Work in prisons: Considerations on racial inequalities and labor activities in Brazilian prisons

Abstract

The problem of violence has been studied by several researchers who analyze contemporary society. In these debates, reflections on the involvement of young people in crime, the increase in incarceration of the black population and the importance of public policies for the prevention of this phenomenon are common. The Federal Constitution of Brazil - CRFB of 1988 and Law 7.210/84 of Penal Execution (LEP) show that educational and work activities must be carried out by the prison population, mainly because they represent efficient mechanisms in the rehabilitation of inmates. This research aims to analyze the criteria used by the penitentiaries to select the convicts considered apt to develop productive activities, verifying, above all, if the convicts' race, color, or ethnicity interfere in their possibilities of access to work activities. The methodology used consisted of the literature review produced on this topic specifically in Brazil in the last five years. The data obtained revealed aspects that allow the permanence of an unequal society, which violates rights guaranteed in the Magna Carta and in the Criminal Executions Law. Among them, the persistence of racial inequalities in prisons, the overcrowding and precariousness in prisons and, above all, the neglect of the public power in not expanding policies aimed at resocialization, stand out. In view of this, the need for the State to intervene in this reality is identified by implementing public policies capable of collaborating with the effectiveness of basic guarantees guaranteed to all citizens, including those who are under deprivation of liberty.