Bruno: Conversations with a Brazilian Drug Dealer by Robert Gay (review)

In this book, sociologist Robert Gay takes us into the world of "Bruno," a Brazilian drug dealer. Gay's two previous books, Lucia: Testimonies of a Brazilian Drug Dealer's Woman (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2005) and Popular Organization and Democracy in Rio de Janeiro: A Tale of Two Favelas (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1993), address the world of drug dealers and issues of criminality, violence, and drugs in Latin America. Lucia led directly to contact with Bruno, who, after fifteen years, agreed to be interviewed. The narrative opens with Bruno's beginnings as a drug dealer and culminates fifteen years later with his remembrances of his life on the streets and in prison. Gay utilizes a question-and-answer format accompanied by contextual sections and illustrated by black-and-white photographs.

After growing up in a poor farming community, Bruno joined the Brazilian navy to escape a life of toil. While posted on patrol on the river border between Brazil and Bolivia he first became involved with the drug trade as a courier and moved into the supply end of the business. He made $10,000 on his first drug deal. Possessing a high level of natural business acumen, Bruno moved up in the hierarchy of the international drug trade, for which Brazil was an important hub. How he treated people and the ways he built relationships based on trust fueled his success: "We were well connected and protected, because we got to know the leaders. We visited them in their homes, and we got to know their families. And because we were honest, and doing things up front, there was no way we could get in trouble" (42).

Gay's questions to Bruno about his life are simple and direct. Despite the clear criminality of Bruno's lifestyle, what comes through is a straightforward account, with little self-aggrandizement. Gay asks, "And in all those years of drug trafficking, had you acquired much property, much money?" Bruno answered, "No, no, because the money soon goes. I mean you lead a good life, right? But you never own anything, because nothing's ever in your name, understand? It's almost as if you don't exist" (32).

Bruno's activities as a drug dealer led to several arrests and, ultimately, prison, which is the focus of much of the narrative. The horror and corruption of the Brazilian prison system is laid bare: overcrowded cells, food shortages, rampant bribes and payoffs, and systemic violence among the inmates and as practiced by the guards. Bruno witnessed several brutal killings but was relatively safe himself because of his membership in the Commando Vermelho (CV), a prison gang connected to favelas (slums) in the major cities of Brazil. Bruno describes the command-and-control methods the CV used in the favelas and the prisons, consisting of violence to enforce its rules: "So Macao came running out of the cell with their knife sticking in his back, between his shoulder blades. … That's when the other guys jumped in. One of them stabbed him in the stomach, and the other one went after him with an axe. And they chopped him to pieces" (65).

It is worth noting that Bruno was not personally involved in prison violence; in fact, he was horrified by it. He survived because of his good relationship with the CV leaders, and he won favor through his efforts to improve conditions for his fellow inmates, seeking peaceful solutions to the violent struggles that occurred when the CV split into two warring camps. He played a leading role in implementing improvement projects: obtaining mattresses for prisoners, negotiating for better food and dental care, and creating a library with books the prisoners' families donated. He even organized soccer.

Thanks to his concern for others and his strong people skills, Bruno survived his years of confinement. By the end of the book, he lives incognito in Rio de Janeiro, no longer a part...