Adolescentes em cumprimento da medida de privação de liberdade em São Luís: um desafio ante a hegemonia das facções

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the challenges faced by adolescents serving custodial socio-educational measures in São Luís, Maranhão, between 2018 and 2023, with a focus on the influence and hegemony of criminal factions. The research adopts a historical-dialectical materialist approach to examine the social construction of adolescence in Brazil, tracing its evolution from punitive legislation, such as the 1830 Penal Code, to the doctrine of full protection consolidated by the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA) in 1990. The study argues that, despite legal advancements, a logic persists that criminalizes poverty and marginalized youth, treating social inequality as a matter of public security. It analyzes how the State’s failure to guarantee basic rights creates power vacuums, which are occupied by criminal organizations that offer a sense of belonging and identity to vulnerable youth. The research investigates the emergence and consolidation of factions in Maranhão, the recruitment dynamics both inside and outside the socio-educational system, and the impacts of this reality on the implementation of the measures. Finally, it examines the institutional strategies of the Fundação da Criança e do Adolescente (FUNAC) to mitigate the influence of these groups, highlighting structural challenges such as overcrowding and policy discontinuity, as well as the need for intersectoral actions to ensure effective social reintegration and break the cycle of violence.