Juvenile incarceration: The historical legacy of selectivity and criminalization of poverty

Abstract This article discusses the issue of juvenile incarceration and how violence is present in the daily life of this population. The reflections are based on the recognition of the selectivity of justice in a society deeply marked by the inequality of gender, social class, and ethnicity. The discussions are carried out with the intention to provide the context of the social aspect, its expressions, and the way the state has historically addressed the issue - with coercion and consensus - revealing how the confrontation of this reality has roots in an unequal society supporting a notion of criminalization of poverty.