Entre a lei e o preconceito: um estudo teórico sobre o racismo estrutural no processo penal brasileiro

Abstract

This study analyzes how structural racism manifests within the Brazilian criminal justice process and how legal doctrine has responded to this phenomenon in light of critical criminology. It starts from the premise that racism in Brazil constitutes a persistent and structural system, rooted in the historical, political, economic, and legal foundations of society, with origins in the slavery period and perpetuated by the lack of effective public policies in the post-abolition era. The exclusionary logic that shaped Brazilian social formation resulted in the systematic marginalization of the Black population, which remains today the primary victim of state violence and penal selectivity. Using a qualitative approach based on a literature review, the research examines key concepts and debates surrounding structural racism and penal selectivity, with particular emphasis on the contributions of authors such as Silvio Almeida, Nilo Batista, Adilson Moreira, and Ricardo Freitas, focusing on academic publications from 2015 to 2025. The study also explores the various forms of racism, including institutional, interpersonal, linguistic, and religious racism, as well as their intersections with other oppressions, such as gender, highlighting the vulnerability of Black women within the criminal justice system. Furthermore, although the Brazilian legal framework includes instruments aimed at combating racism—such as Law No. 7.716/1989 and the Racial Equality Statute (Law No. 12.288/2010)—the effectiveness of these norms is limited due to the persistence of structural racism deeply ingrained in Brazilian society. This reality hinders the effective implementation of anti-racist policies and the cultural transformation necessary to overcome racial inequalities. In this context, penal selectivity functions as a mechanism that naturalizes racial inequality, reinforcing stigmas and legitimizing punitive practices against the Black population, especially young people and residents of urban peripheries. Thus, this work aims to demonstrate that confronting racism in the criminal justice process requires more than formal measures: it demands a critical, intersectional, and transformative posture by legal operators, as well as the strengthening of reparative and anti-discriminatory public policies. The conclusion stresses the urgent need to build a legal culture committed to human rights, racial equity, and overcoming the structural inequalities that continue to profoundly mark the Brazilian criminal justice system.