Prison Labor and the Socioeconomic Reinsertion of the Former Inmates: The Case about the Regional Penitentiary Complex of Nova Alta Paulista, Sao Paulo

Abstract

This study presents the results of an empirical research that was made based on the Nova Alta Paulista region in São Paulo, about the deployment in the decentralization of the Prison System after the deactivation of “Complexo Carandiru” in Sao Paulo. Surveys and interviews that were conducted during the process indicate that the main motive that took the mayors who supported the construction of these prisons was an aggravated economic stagnation in the 90´s. The idea was that the construction of these prisons would provide jobs and profit for the cities, during both the construction process and afterwards as well, through the hiring of penitentiary agents, and outsourced companies in order to fulfill the needs of the prisons. A decade later, there are visible changes in the day to day of the referenced cities, related to the prison’s work executed by inmates and the socio-economical reinsertion of the former inmates and their families into the system.