International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2018 | Page 11

International Journal on Criminology
coup in 1964. We will then focus on the period under the military dictatorship,
when dubious relations developed between the Bicheiros 4 and the regime, 5 and
when the torch was passed between generations of cupola members. 6
Thereafter, we will examine the two big judicial investigations, beginning in
the 1990s, that targeted the animal game’s capi. These revealed a modern criminal
organization, using sophisticated techniques to control several different activities
at the same time: the traditional animal game, slot machines and, in the 2000s,
casinos. We will learn that behind the illicit activity tolerated by carioca society,
there exists a huge criminal network organized as a mafia.
We will go on to develop criminological analyses, perhaps the key part of
this thesis. We will compare the criminal practices of the Bicheiros to those of
other criminal organizations elsewhere in the world, especially the Italian Mafia.
We will observe the difficulties encountered by the Brazilian judiciary in settling
charges on the Bicheiros, as also happens in similar situations elsewhere, partly
because of a lack of appropriate laws and partly because of the avoidance strategies
that these criminals adopt. We will see that at the present time, the third generation
of godfathers is progressively replacing the “uncles.” 7
Lastly, we will challenge some preconceived notions. We will first seek to
demonstrate that the Bicheiros, more than just a criminal operation, are an organization
similar to the Italian Mafia and other international criminal organizations.
As we expose the functioning of this criminal network, we will show that
the damage done in Rio and in Brazil goes beyond breaches of domestic security.
Finally, we will identify the collateral effect of the Bicheiros’ crimes on the morale
and ethics of carioca society: corruption, violence, and so on.
In a new global world order, nations and other international interests are
increasingly worried by the internationalization of crime. For analysts and specialists
in this field, understanding criminal phenomena facilitates detailed evaluation
that could lead to improved security policies.
This paper’s objective is thus to expose an organization that has profited
from the folklore and tradition of a lottery that has existed for over a century, to
become a transnational criminal operation: modern, hybrid, entrepreneurial, and
mafioso. Meanwhile, society and the press in Brazil have been blind to the situation
and have long viewed the bicheiro as a sort of Brazilian Robin Hood, supporting
the Carnival and popular culture.
4 The term Bicheiro, capitalized, will be used in this article to describe the chiefs of the cupola
da bicho that controls the animal game. There are of course lower-ranked bicheiros; these will
be referred to as godfathers.
5 The dictatorship between 1964 and 1985 was marked by intermittent military repression of
leftist opponents. In an initial period between 1964 and around 1969 fundamental rights were
respected. This was followed by a phase of significant repression from 1969 until 1974, when
at last the government decided to initiate a slow and gradual return to democracy.
6 The cupola is the animal game’s operational command unit, composed of the most important
family chiefs.
7 In Portuguese, the bicheiros who command the operation are known as tios, or uncles.
8