Crimes de colarinho branco no Brasil: uma análise a partir da ótica do Direito Penal do Inimigo

Abstract

This paper examines Enemy Criminal Law (Feindstrafrecht) and its critiques to assess its application to white-collar crime in Brazil. Using a structured literature review, it (i) outlines Jakobs’s framework and Zaffaroni’s critique; (ii) traces the Latin-American diffusion of the paradigm and the media’s role in legitimizing exceptional measures; (iii) maps the shift of the “enemy” in Brazil—from the “war on drugs” to the corrupt office holder—and (iv) surveys relevant typologies in criminal legislation. Case studies (Mensalão and Lava Jato) show how spectacularized proceedings foster interpretative expansions and punitive anticipation, straining impartiality, due process, and the presumption of innocence. A prospective section engages with neuroscience/behavioral economics on contextual dishonesty, warning that deterministic readings, coupled with an indeterminate “enemy”, risk normalizing exception and undermining the rule of law. The conclusion argues that effective anti-corruption hinges on strong procedural safeguards and structural reforms, rather than extending exceptional criminal procedures.