International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2018 | Page 10

International Journal on Criminology • Volume 6, Number 1 • Spring 2018
Territorial and Corrosive: The “jogo do bicho”
(Animal Game) and Organized Crime in Brazil
Daniel N. Coelho
Daniel Coelho is a senior officer in Brazil’s federal police force. This
article is an extract from his Master’s thesis in criminology “Le jeu
des bêtes, o jogo do bicho et la criminalité organisée à Rio - des origines
à nos jours” (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris,
September 2016.) Between 2007 and 2008, Coelho was at the forefront
of investigations into the principal bicheiros. Coelho wrote the
original text in French himself. It is remarkable for its objectivity.
That in fact is why I joined the police. I like being at the heart of things.
—Albert Camus, Les Justes, 1949 1
INTRODUCTION
Beneath the charms of Rio de Janeiro, with its glorious beaches, football,
samba and carnival, lurks a criminal group structured according to mafia
principles. This organization has always been part of carioca folklore, 2 but it
is only in the past few years that it has truly been targeted. After the federal police’s
“Furacão” operation in 2007, the organization was exposed as never before. This
paper will introduce the group, its characteristics and methods. We will examine
the specialized literature and cases involving these criminals, as well as their history,
in order to throw light on this criminal operation and the role it has played in
the “descent into hell” 3 of Brazil’s former capital, struggling against drug trafficking,
violence, corruption, and a climate of fear.
We will begin with the history of the animal game, from the moment of its
creation, at a time when Brazil was at last becoming a Republic, until the military
1 Translated as “The Just Assassins” in Caligula and Three Other Plays, trans. Stuart Gilbert and Justin
O’Brien (New York: Vintage, 1962).
2 Carioca is the name given to the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro.
3 During the Rio Olympics, striking police protesting at Rio de Janeiro’s international airport held
up a banner aimed at tourists and athletes: “Welcome to Hell.” Washington Post, June 29, 2016,
accessed February 3, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/06/29/
welcome-to-hell-rio-police-tell-visitors-as-body-parts-wash-up-on-olympic-beach/
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doi: 10.18278/ijc.6.1.2