Brazil the face of violence:

Mayra Juca finds out why violence is so attractive to the young men of Rio de Janeiro
New Internationalist, August, 2005 by Mayra Juca

JUST imagine it's you. You've known since you were nine that your life has a value to society of absolutely zero. You could be shot down in the street at any moment, perhaps by a police officer. There won't be an investigation, much less punishment for the killer. Nothing will happen. You know this with certainty because you saw your brother shot right in front of you. You want revenge.

Imagine also that you don't have enough to eat because your father is unemployed and your mother too. They send you out to beg or to sell candy. Think, too, that when you try to get a job when you're 15 or 16 you won't find one because there are no jobs for people like you. So you have no money, not enough food, no work, you saw your brother killed and you know your life has no value for society. Under such conditions, it is easy to understand why a young person would get involved with crime and with armed violence.