HLGC Research Seminar - Circulating models of social control in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires (1906–1919)

HLGC are delighted to be joined by Laila Maia Galvão, a professor at the IDP – Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research and a visiting scholar at the Law and Humanities Hub – Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. The title of her talk will be "Circulating models of social control in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires (1906–1919)”.

Abstract:

The paper examines the transnational development of modern policing in early twentieth-century Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, emphasising the influence of Ramón Lorenzo Falcón’s leadership as Buenos Aires Chief of Police after 1906 on Brazilian practices under Aurelino Leal. It argues that processes of professionalisation and the adoption of “scientific” policing methods, including the creation of police schools and systematic training, reflected shared urban challenges linked to social control, labour unrest, and rapid urbanisation. Falcón’s violent repression of protests and Leal’s similarly strict enforcement policies shaped public perceptions and cultural responses. By drawing on primary sources including police bulletins, legal journals, and newspapers, the study highlights how cross-national exchanges, rather than purely domestic dynamics, were central to the formation of modern policing models in both cities.

Speaker Bio:

Laila Maia Galvão earned her law degree from the University of Brasília (2010), a Master’s in Law from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (2013), and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Brasília (2017), which included a research period at the University of Michigan, USA. From 2022 to 2024, she was a visiting scholar at the American University in Cairo. She is a member of the Brazilian Institute of Legal History (IBHD). Her research interests include legal history, constitutional law and the origins of the administrative state.