Apresentação: O “punitivismo” no sistema de justiça juvenil brasileiro / Punitivism in the Brazilian juvenile justice

In this presentation of the dossier Adolescents deemed as a problem: narrative disputes, production of law and punishment, we build on the international debate on contemporary trends in juvenile justice and present a discussion on the advance of punitivism in the Brazilian juvenile justice, based on the analysis of disputes in the political arena. The discussion comprises (i) the systematization of indicators of ‘punitivism’ in juvenile justice and of the related data; and (ii) the analysis of political disputes in the legislative and the judiciary based on data of law production related to the topic during the 30 years since the promulgation of the Statute of Child and Adolescent (ECA) and on the case of the lawsuit on unconstitutionality no. 3,446 (Ação Direta de Insconstitucionalidade – ADI 3446). We seek to demonstrate that, in the political arena, ECA's perspective has prevailed and punitive speeches have rather symbolic than practical effects. Punitive, discursive and non-discursive practices were not institutionalized in legal provisions or official policies of the Brazilian juvenile justice system. However, existing data on other punitive indicators show that the punitive logic seems to have space in the functioning of institutions directly responsible for guarding young offenders.Nesta apresentação do dossiê O adolescente visto como problema: disputas narrativas, produção legislativa e punição, partimos do debate internacional sobre as tendências contemporâneas da justiça juvenil e apresentamos uma reflexão sobre o diagnóstico do avanço do assim chamado punitivismo no âmbito do sistema de justiça juvenil brasileiro, a partir da análise das disputas travadas na arena política em torno da temática. A reflexão envolve (i) a sistematização dos indicadores de punitivismo e de dados e informações relativos a esses indicadores; e (ii) a análise das disputas políticas nas esferas do legislativo e do judiciário a partir de dados sobre as proposições legislativas relativas ao tema apresentadas nos 30 anos de existência do ECA e do caso da ADI 3.446. Buscamos demonstrar que, na arena política, a perspectiva de defesa do ECA tem prevalecido e os discursos punitivos têm efeitos mais simbólicos do que práticos. As práticas punitivas, discursivas e não-discursivas, não se institucionalizaram em dispositivos legais ou políticas oficiais do sistema de justiça juvenil brasileiro. No entanto, os dados existentes sobre os demais indicadores de punitivismo sinalizam que a lógica punitiva parece desfrutar de amplo espaço no funcionamento das instituições diretamente responsáveis pelo processamento dos adolescentes autores de atos infracionais. ==== In this presentation of the dossier Adolescents deemed as a problem: narrative disputes, production of law and punishment, we build on the international debate on contemporary trends in juvenile justice and present a discussion on the advance of punitivism in the Brazilian juvenile justice, based on the analysis of disputes in the political arena. The discussion comprises (i) the systematization of indicators of ‘punitivism’ in juvenile justice and of the related data; and (ii) the analysis of political disputes in the legislative and the judiciary based on data of law production related to the topic during the 30 years since the promulgation of the Statute of Child and Adolescent (ECA) and on the case of the lawsuit on unconstitutionality no. 3,446 (Ação Direta de Insconstitucionalidade – ADI 3446). We seek to demonstrate that, in the political arena, ECA's perspective has prevailed and punitive speeches have rather symbolic than practical effects. Punitive, discursive and non-discursive practices were not institutionalized in legal provisions or official policies of the Brazilian juvenile justice system. However, existing data on other punitive indicators show that the punitive logic seems to have space in the functioning of institutions directly responsible for guarding young offenders