“O nome é lição porque é uma lição de vida”: moralidades e governamentalidade no PROERD Maranhão

Abstract

The Drug and Violence Resistance Education Program (PROERD), developed by the Military Police, aims to prevent drug use and violence among children and adolescents. This research set out to investigate the representations constructed by the social actors involved in the dynamics of PROERD. Among the specific objectives, the following stand out: to analyze the theoretical and practical foundations of the program; to examine the effects of the Military Police's presence in schools; and to understand how the dynamics of the program are perceived by its participants. Methodologically, the study combines a literature review, multi-sited ethnography (Marcus, 1995), and online ethnography (Leitão & Gomes, 2017, 2022), in addition to informal conversations with the research subjects (Fonseca, 1998). A gap was found in the academic production on PROERD, with 49 studies identified on the Sucupira Platform, all carried out by members of the military corporation itself, which highlights the need for more plural and critical approaches. The analysis mobilizes the concepts of representation and stigmatization (Goffman, 2002, 2004; Hall, 2016), in addition to the notion of governmentality (Foucault, 2008), which allows us to understand PROERD as a technology of pastoral control, associated with disciplinary practices (Foucault, 1987). The approach of “anthropology of the margins” (Das & Poole, 2008) contributed to explaining how peripheral communities experience the militarization of schools, in tension with social rights. The notion of “bare life” (Agamben, 2004) highlighted the reduction of young bodies to targets of biopolitical management. The results indicate that PROERD, by naturalizing the presence of the Military Police as an educational agent, contributes to the reproduction of social hierarchies and the marginalization of impoverished territories, masking violence under the rhetoric of protection. The research thus contributes to unveiling the mechanisms of behavior formation and the coloniality present in “pacification” policies (Oliveira, 2016), revealing the role of the State in the normalization and management of social life in contexts of vulnerability. This study aims to contribute to the debate on the social and symbolic impacts of PROERD, examining its educational practices, institutional performances, and its effects on the formation of behaviors among children and educators.