FROM RIVER TO ASPHALT: AMAZON IDENTITY, ABSENCE OF PROFESSION AND RATIONAL CHOICE FOR THE CRIME OF THEFT AMONG MIGRANTS FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE AMAZON IN MANAUS

Abstract

This article analyzes the socio-labor transition of young men aged between 18 and 29 years, migrants from the interior of Amazonas to the capital, Manaus, from the perspective of urban crime. The central problem is to identify how Amazonian identity and the lack of professional qualifications influence the rational choice for the crime of robbery. Its general objective is to analyze this influence, evaluate these constituent elements of the Amazonian identity, examine the lack of professional qualifications, in addition to identifying the public policies in effect. The central hypothesis lies in the exclusion of the "amphibian man", whose traditional subsistence skills do not find equivalence in the formal job market. Using a mixed methodology (Quali-Quantitative), descriptive and exploratory research, the case study of a young man from the countryside. The Rational Choice Theory is based on demonstrating that adherence to the crime of robbery listed in article 157 of the Penal Code is not a random act, but a decision based on a cost-benefit calculation, where navigation skills and territoriality are redefined as criminal tactics. The findings indicate that the lack of professional certification for traditional knowledge, an essential criterion for formal employment, pushes migrants towards marginality, concentrating in the East and North Zones of Manaus.