Redução da maioridade penal: a longa trajetória de um discurso sobre adolescentes / Lowering the age of criminal responsibility: the long run of a discourse on adolescents

Between the 1980s and 1990s, Brazil experienced an era of expansion of childhood and adolescence protection networks, based on the adoption of paradigmatic legal frameworks, such as the Child and Adolescent Statute (1990). However, even before the enactment of the ECA, in 1989, a proposal for a constitutional amendment was presented to amend article 228, which deals with the minimum age for criminal liability. Since then, several social and political actors have endeavored to preserve in the public debate the space for a vision of the youth as a problem, demanding a solution through punitive measures. The purpose of this article is to analyze the speeches of the parliamentarians involved in the discussions of the PEC 171-93, known as the reduction of the penal age, approved in 2015 in the Chamber of Deputies. From the minutes of the plenary and special commissions of the CD, it is intended to understand how a perspective of youth as a source of violencewas formed in this space. Among the many arguments used by defenders of the measure, three stand out, to be discussed in greater depth: (1) changes in the understanding of young people in relation to 1940, when the penal code was drafted; (2) exemplarity of punishment and its effects on the organization of families; and (3) the possibility of offering a response to victims of violence committed by minors.Entre os anos 1980 e 1990 foi possível observar, no Brasil, um momento de expansão da rede de proteção à infância e adolescência, a partir da adoção de marcos legais paradigmáticos, como o Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (1990). No entanto, ainda antes da promulgação do ECA, em 1989, foi apresentada proposta de emenda constitucional para a alteração do artigo 228, que versa sobre a idade mínima para a imputabilidade penal. Desde então, diversos atores sociais e políticos se empenharem em preservar no debate público o espaço para uma visão do jovem como problema, a demandar solução pela via punitiva. A proposta deste artigo é analisar as falas dos parlamentares envolvidos nas discussões da PEC 171-93, conhecida como redução da maioridade penal, aprovada em 2015 na Câmara dos Deputados. A partir das atas de plenário e comissões especiais da CD, pretende-se compreender como se conformou nesse espaço uma perspectiva da juventude como possível fonte de violência. Dentre os muitos argumentos empregados pelos defensores da medida, destacam-se três, a serem discutidos em maior profundidade: (1) transformações na capacidade de entendimento dos jovens em relação a 1940, quando foi redigido o código penal; (2) exemplaridade da punição e seus efeitos sobre a organização das famílias; e (3) possibilidade de oferecer uma resposta às vítimas de violência cometida por menores de idade. ==== Between the 1980s and 1990s, Brazil experienced an era of expansion of childhood and adolescence protection networks, based on the adoption of paradigmatic legal frameworks, such as the Child and Adolescent Statute (1990). However, even before the enactment of the ECA, in 1989, a proposal for a constitutional amendment was presented to amend article 228, which deals with the minimum age for criminal liability. Since then, several social and political actors have endeavored to preserve in the public debate the space for a vision of the youth as a problem, demanding a solution through punitive measures. The purpose of this article is to analyze the speeches of the parliamentarians involved in the discussions of the PEC 171-93, known as the reduction of the penal age, approved in 2015 in the Chamber of Deputies. From the minutes of the plenary and special commissions of the CD, it is intended to understand how a perspective of youth as a source of violencewas formed in this space. Among the many arguments used by defenders of the measure, three stand out, to be discussed in greater depth: (1) changes in the understanding of young people in relation to 1940, when the penal code was drafted; (2) exemplarity of punishment and its effects on the organization of families; and (3) the possibility of offering a response to victims of violence committed by minors