The Federal Penitentiary System: On new and old perspectives of punishment in contemporary Brazil
The objective of this thesis is to understand how the Federal Penitentiary System constituted itself as a paradigm of punishment in Brazil. Federal prisons were created in the mid-2000s by the federal government, as part of an agenda to combat criminal factions in the country. In particular, such units are intended to keep in their custody prisoners considered as highly dangerous or leaders of criminal factions. Based on the American supermax model, the solitary confinement of their populations for 22 hours a day, in addition to surveillance and control, are central aspects of their functioning. The rights foreseen in the Penal Executions Law are equally guaranteed to their populations, as well as the absence of escapes and riots, or cell phones being found with inmates are reputed to be examples of the efficiency of federal prisons. Such elements contrast with most detention facilities in the country. Thereby, we investigated the disputes, tensions, social actors involved and institutional practices that were consolidated from this model of imprisonment. Likewise, we analyzed the processes that would have been influenced the dynamics related to criminal factions in the country. Finally, we pointed to some impacts and perspectives of punishment produced from the Federal Penitentiary System.