Statement on the situation of Argentine prisons in general
El CLACSO Working Group on Neighborhoods, Families and Prisons in Circuitor expresses its deep concern about the situation of Argentine prisons in general, and those in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires in particular, following the violent conflicts that took place on the afternoon and evening of March 23 in two prisons in Santa Fe, which ended in the death of 5 detainees – according to official sources that are categorically denied by the detainees.
Beyond the speculation surrounding the death toll, which is causing uncertainty for many families today, we are interested in reconstructing the already lengthy history of this uprising. Because, as we have stated in various press releases in national media, the conflicts witnessed yesterday amidst the quarantine were anything but unforeseen or unexpected.
The families of the detainees, volunteers, universities with outreach programs in both prisons, and the detainees themselves had been warning since the COVID-19 emergency was declared that the unsanitary conditions in which they were serving their sentences contradicted the most basic guidelines for preventing and containing the virus. These conditions, unfortunately, appear identical to those of a massive prison system like Brazil's. According to the latest technical reports, both in Brazil and Argentina, prisons house enormous numbers of people without providing them with something as basic as water—potable water in Argentina, plain water in Brazil. Thus, while the free world champions systematic and thorough hygiene, and adopts very restrictive criteria of quarantine and isolation of the population as the only possible measure to counter the spread of the virus, Argentine and Brazilian prisons – true to their tradition – not only fail to provide basic hygiene items to detainees but also cut off the only way to access them, which is through the families of the detainees.
To be clearer: Argentine prisons—like other Latin American prisons that share similar structural problems to varying degrees—are currently inhabited by a predominantly young male population from disadvantaged social strata, with little or no prior education, who, more due to where they live than to the commission of serious crimes, end up incarcerated multiple times in their (generally) short lives. In prison, living conditions are appalling—overcrowding is compounded by sewage, overflowing drains, constant dampness, and nonexistent or inadequate medical care—but above all, they are incompatible with an ongoing pandemic like the one we are currently experiencing.
Faced with this situation, instead of implementing, through the exception that the pandemic authorizes (and, in a way, demands), measures to reduce the prison population, such as relaxing requirements for granting house arrest, granting freedom to detainees who have "exceeded" the terms of their sentences, and, mainly, releasing pretrial detainees who represent more than fifty percent of the detainees (a figure that Argentina shares with Brazil), our prison administrations, in implicit agreement with the judicial authorities, decide to further tighten confinement by prohibiting work in the workshops of the units, prohibiting visits from family members, and, in a quasi-suicidal gesture, also prohibiting families from sending packages to their detained relatives.
Through these packages, in Argentina as in most prison systems around the world, families "dignify" the daily lives of their incarcerated loved ones. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, these packages carried not only dignity but, more importantly, hygiene supplies to keep the cell clean, disinfect hands, and maintain personal hygiene.
The necropolitics of the prison administrations of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, which historically do not provide hygiene items to their detainees but rather require them to obtain them by buying them in the prison canteen or receiving them from their relatives, eliminate jobs that allowed them to earn money to "shop in the canteen," prohibit relatives from sending packages and, instead, do not assume their priority obligation to provide them.
Through this statement, we, the members of this Working Group, who have in-depth knowledge of the shortcomings and structural problems of prison systems in our continent, particularly in Argentina, wish to draw the attention of the community at large to the following aspects:
URGENT IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIFIC POLICIES TO PROTECT THE DETAINED POPULATION AND PRISON WORKERSIt is imperative that the State immediately implement public policies addressing the situation of people incarcerated in inhumane conditions, outside of all hygiene and sanitation standards. If this situation continues, the risks of COVID-19 infection and spread among the incarcerated population and prison staff are extremely high. We call the attention of political and judicial authorities, as guarantors of the rights of the entire population, to this matter.
REDUCTION OF THE PRISON POPULATIONIn direct relation to the above, but also taking into account the unsanitary and inhumane conditions of confinement, it is imperative to reduce prisons to their bare minimum. To achieve this, it is largely enough to comply with the law and release all those detained despite having more than fulfilled the legal requirements; release pretrial detainees, who, as mentioned above, represent more than fifty percent of the prison population; and relax, as has been done in other countries, the requirements for granting house arrest. We urge the political authorities to act in this direction.
PARTICIPATION OF THE AFFECTED POPULATION IN THE FORMULATION OF GOVERNMENT POLICIESIt is imperative to recognize detainees and their families as valid interlocutors with whom to agree on hygiene and sanitation measures to protect both detainees and prison staff, as well as their families. Prisons cannot continue to be governed as if they were completely sealed off, without any communication with the outside world. The families of detainees are concerned about what happens to their incarcerated loved ones, providing invaluable support in enduring years of confinement. Furthermore, they assume as their own the obligations that the state should fulfill regarding the provision of food and hygiene supplies to their detained relatives. Their opinions and recommendations must be heard when adopting measures that affect them.
CREATION OF AN INDEPENDENT INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE DEATHSFinally, given the tragic outcome of detainees dying, the number of whom is still under discussion, we request that national and provincial authorities establish an interdisciplinary commission composed of political actors from the Ministries of Justice and Health, delegates from the National Network of Support for Families of Detainees, representatives from Universities, relatives of detainees, and other civil actors working in prisons, to independently investigate the events that occurred and to definitively establish the number of deaths.
March 2020
CLACSO Working Group
Neighborhoods, families and prisons in circuit
