Dinheiro e cárcere: uma análise sobre a economia dentro dos presídios de Pernambuco

Abstract

The aim of this work is to structure the ways in which the economy is established within prison isolation, using the Northeast region as a central geographical point. The scientific importance is largely formulated by the very environment that is being studied. The prison is not a laboratory where variables can be controlled; they are part of the living organism that is society. Analyzing a limited environment such as this one from a technical and economic perspective can reveal the market and the relationships that exist within it in a completely different way. The research used the method of discourse analysis in academic papers, articles, official reports and newspapers, focusing exclusively on the daily life of prisons in the state of Pernambuco, extracting the passages that refer to economic concepts in order to build a map of the structure. During the collection of reports, it became clear that Pernambuco's prison population is a reflection of the institutional prejudice that surrounds society. The accounts show that the modus operandi of the prison economy is exactly the same as that of the free world, since the capitalist economy is inseparable from the structure formed inside the prison, the same hierarchical power structure, where those with money always have an advantage over those without. Commerce in this environment is lively, everything is bought, everything is sold and everything is negotiated. It is necessary for public bodies to mediate power relations, to centralize or negotiate them in a way that is less harmful to those who have low incomes and cannot afford the privileges of prison.