Synopses & Reviews
In the 1980s a poor farmerand#39;s son from Recife, Brazil, joined the Brazilian navy and began selling cocaine. After his arrest in Rio de Janeiro he spent the next eight years in prison, where he joined the Comando Vermelho criminal faction and eventually became one of its leaders. Robert Gay tells this young manand#39;s dramatic and captivating story in Bruno. In his shockingly candid interviews with Gay, Bruno provides many insights into the criminal world in which he lived: details of day-to-day prison life; the inner workings of the Brazilian drug trade; the structure of criminal factions; and the complexities of the relationships and links between the prisons, drug trade, gangs, police, and favelas. And most stunningly, Brunoand#39;s story suggests that Brazilian mismanagement of the prison system directly led to the Comando Vermelho and other criminal factionsand#39; expansion into Rioand#39;s favelas, where their turf wars and battles with police have terrorized the city for over two decades.
Review
andquot;It is amazing to read an insiderand#39;s account of the evolution of the Comando Vermelho. Brunoand#39;s structure and themes are similar to those used in Robert Gayand#39;s previous book, Lucia. The details of Luciaand#39;s life are gripping and unique, but Brunoand#39;s life story is more unusual, the events recounted more shocking, and the insights afforded perhaps more valuable. Gayand#39;s success is a testament to long, patient research, and to bonds built up over many years. The details of Brunoand#39;s life confirm and substantiate the maddeningly speculative picture already held by specialists. Bruno goes beyond confirming this picture, however, revealing new insights.andquot;
Review
andquot;Brunoand#39;s virtues are obvious: clear expository writing, an almost unmediated access to the heart and mind of a tough guy, and to an underworld that neatly connects to concerns here in the United States. Robert Gay has become an unavoidable reference for scholars on criminality, violence, and drugs in Latin America.
Bruno is another key contribution.andquot;
Review
andldquo;This particular account is interesting and engagingandhellip;andrdquo;
Synopsis
Bruno is the story of a Brazilian navy corporal turned drug dealer, who after being imprisoned became the leader of one of Braziland#39;s biggest criminal factions, the Comando Vermelho. Brunoand#39;s story provides insights into the Brazilian drug trade, prison life, and explains the epidemic of violence in Rioand#39;s favelas.
About the Author
Robert Gay is Professor of Sociology at Connecticut College. He is the author of
Lucia: Testimonies of a Brazilian Drug Dealerand#39;s Woman and
Popular Organization and Democracy in Rio De Janeiro: A Tale of Two Favelas.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Traffickingand#160; 7
2. Things Come Undoneand#160; 29
3. The Familyand#160; 47
4. The Deviland#39;s Cauldronand#160; 63
5. On the Runand#160; 85
6. Paradise Lostand#160; 109
7. The Leaderand#160; 135
8. Judgment Dayand#160; 175
Postscriptand#160; 195
Timeline of Eventsand#160; 201
Notesand#160; 203
Bibliographyand#160; 215
Indexand#160; 219