Brazilian Prisons

Abraham Arias was in my Latin American Politics class this past semester, and wrote a very good op-ed on Brazilian prisons. With some editing we got it into Latin America Goes Global.

Brazil is among the countries in the region facing the systemic issue of “policies that over-incarcerate.” The policy has resulted in taking the drug wars from the street to close quarters in over-populated prisons. And privatization only has worsened the trend; under current law, public inspection of prisons is prohibited in private centers, preventing the state from identifying and addressing inhumane conditions such as poor food, overcrowding or insufficient health services—conditions that tend to spawn violence and criminality within prison walls.

Go take a look.