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THE PCC (PRIMEIRO COMANDO DA CAPITAL FIRST COMMAND OF THE

CAPITAL) IS NOT JUST A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION, BUT IT IS AN

ORGANIZED POLITICAL PARTY

WESTEN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 2013

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Introduction Political parties are somehow related to social movements. Its normal for social movements to evolve themselves to political parties. A lot of modern political parties have their roots in social movements. But what would happen if a criminal organization or a militia starts to follow these same steps? The PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital First Command of the Capital) is a criminal organization so-called a social movement, but it is now acting like a party and its taking over So Paulo city (Brazil) and leading the population to a dictatorship of terror. First, to demonstrate the harm that the PCC represents to the Brazilian government; it is needed to define a political party. How it works, what are the fundamentals. Also, it is needed to show the aspects of a social movement. Finally, its time to trace a parallel between the PCC organization and the aspect of the social movement and an organized political party. An organized political party

To define an organized political party using simple words is to state that a party is a group of people trying to defend ideas and ideals inside of the government basis for the benefit of a similar group of non political citizens of the society. According to Dr. Daniel Thabo (2011)
A political party is defined as an organized group of people with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions, which seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. Parties tend to be deeply and durably entrenched in specific substructures of the specific society in a sustainable and well functioning democracy. They can link the governmental institutions to the elements of

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civil society in a free and fair society and are regarded as necessary for any modern democratic system.

Political parties perform key tasks in a democratic society, such as

1.

aggregating and articulating needs and problems as identified

by members and supporters

2.

socializing and educating voters and citizens in the

functioning of the political and electoral system and the generation of general political values

3.

balancing opposing demands and converting them into

general policies

4.

Activating and mobilizing citizens into participating in

political decisions and transforming their opinions into viable policy options

5.

Channeling public opinion from citizens to government

Recruiting and training candidates for public office. Political parties are often described as institutionalized mediators between civil society and those who decide and implement decisions. By this, they enable their members' and supporters demands to be represented in parliament and in government. Even though parties fulfill many vital roles and perform several functions in a democratic society, the nomination and presentation of candidates in the electoral campaign is the most visible function to the electorate. A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to attain and maintain political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns,

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educational outreach or protest actions. Parties often espouse an expressed ideology or vision bolstered by a written plat with specific goals, forming a coalition among disparate interests.

An organized political party has a statute to define the direction of its actions. Members follow very strict rules in order to keep the values, the ideals, and the main character of the party (its personality) stated on its statute. Disrespect these rules can result in a punishment. The hierarchy is clearly established and it works just like the hierarchy of a normal democratic government, where the members vote to decide the steps that should be taken next. The leadership is responsible to call these plebiscites and secure that the decisions will be taken. Of course there are a lot of negotiations to discuss these steps and deals are made to assure that one step or another will prevail in order to benefit the majority of the members of the party. This represents the population and the public opinion. Once these decisions are made, the politicians work inside the government basis to defend these claims and create new project for laws or change old laws. A Social Movement The definition of a social movement isnt that different from the definition of an organized political party. It is also a group of people trying to defend ideas and ideals for the benefit of similar group citizens of the society, but they do not act directly inside the government basis and the members can or cannot be a politician related to a political party. The hierarchy isnt clear in some of the cases but theres some kind of organization. Syndicates are one good example of it. Usually, people involved with social movements migrate to politics just like the former Brazilian President Luis Incio Lula da Silva.

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The PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital First Command of the Capital) as an organized political party According to Max G. Manwarning (2004)
First-generation gangs are traditional street gangs with a turf orientation. When they engage in criminal enterprise, it is largely opportunistic and local in scope. Second-generation gangs are engaged in business. They are entrepreneurial and drug-centered, and tend to pursue implicit political objectives. Third generation gangs are primarily mercenary in orientation, and many of them seek to advance explicit political and social objectives. As such, third-generation gangs find themselves at the three-way intersection among crime, war, and politics; however, there is only one rule. That is, there are no rules (criminal anarchy) (p. 6).

The PCC is typically one of the third generation gang, but when it comes down to the political directions of this criminal organization, they are one step ahead of its counterparts. The PCC started its activities inside some of the So Paulo State prisons in the mid 90s as a movement to claim for prisoners rights. What differentiates the PCC from other social movements or NGOs is the fact that the PCC claims for their rights. Such as promoting outrageous violence, huge and violent rebellions inside and outside prisons in So Paulo, killing cops, and attacking the local commerce. The strategy here is to use these violent maneuvers to oppress the population and change the public opinion based on fear. During a huge rebellion in 2002, the Brazilian press called them a party for the first time, and since then they started to act like a real party. They created their statute and now any criminal person or convicted prisoner can join the PCC paying an amount of money to apply, and also, a little contribution each month, similar to an organized political party. Also, they are

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creating several rules for criminals inside and outside the prison, and somehow, it is working better than the State or Federal laws. Some of these PCC rules are helping to minimize the crack epidemic that afflicts So Paulo city. The number of rapes is also decreasing, but the way that the PCC is acting is based on a dictatorship of fear. According to Manwarning, in March 2006 they promoted almost 300 attacks in the city of So Paulo. The targets were police stations, banks, personal houses, municipal buildings, busses, etc. Also they coordinated simultaneous rebellions in 82 prisons (p. 41). The main reason was that the PCC was trying to intimidate officials after several of the gang's jailed leaders were placed in solitary confinement. The result was according to Paulo Prada (2006), five days of violence and 115 people dead. These kinds of attacks still happen in So Paulo, but they are not as intense as those attacks in 2006. They have a simple rule now, which is for every single PCC member killed by a cop, the PCC kill two cops in response. It is just a way for them to show their absolute power. The last wave of attacks happened in 2012. Once again, after the So Paulo police arrested and killed some of their members they attacked some police stations. Graham Denyer Willis (2012) states that 94 police officers were killed. However, part of the society has started to support these actions, and that is what the PCC leadership is waiting for to evolve itself as a political party. They are acting inside the political sphere nowadays, but they are using the old model, they are paying some corrupt politicians and corrupt cops, but they already started to create their own politicians.

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Manwarning states the the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) calls themselves heroes, but they are not concerned about the well-being of the society, actually the society as a whole is a victim. They are not concerned about their members. So far, they are trying to make the state invisible or irrelevant. (p. 34) Conclusion One of the PCC leaders, Marcos Camacho (Marcola) once said that he is not a dumb. During his time in jail he read Maquiavel and Schopenhauer. Hes just as smart as any intellectual. Thats how a simple gang started to change their actions from simple crimes to politic control of a city. The PCC business is not about to get rich controlling the drug traffic or promoting crimes. Its not about claim for prisoners right as a social movement. In fact, its about to control the population of the biggest city of Latin America. With their own statute, several and strict rules, and more the 100.000 members they are promoting attacks to control a city and challenge the State. They are manipulating people and turning them against the police corporation and against the government. The PCC is more than a criminal organization, more than a gang. They have nothing to do with a social movement. The PCC is a very extremist political party and soon they will be officially working inside the government basis if the people from So Paulo do not start to discuss it.

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References Goldstone, J. A. (2003). States, Parties, and Social Movements. Cambridge University Press.

Manwarning, M. G. US Army (2007). A Contemporary Challenge to State Sovereignty: Gangs and Other Illicit Transnational Criminal Organizatios in Central America, El Salvador, Mexico, Jamaica, and Brazil. Retrieved from http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/

Thomas, C. S. (2011). Political Parties & Interest Groups Shaping Democratic Governance. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Pachondo Org. (2011) Daniel Thabo. Roles and Definition of Political Paties Retrieved from http://pachodo.org/latest-news-articles/pachodo-english-articles/2078roles-and-definition-of-political-parties

Prada, P. (2006, May 17). 5 Days of Violence by Gangs in So Paulo Leaves 115 Dead before Subsiding. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/world/americas/17brazil.html?fta=y

Willis, G. D. (2012, Dec 01). Whats Killing Brazils Police? New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/opinion/sunday/in-brazil-poverty-is-deadly-forpolice-officers.html?_r=0