NCJ Number
80453
Journal
Questione Criminale Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-April 1980) Pages: 117-128
Date Published
1980
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The Argentine criminal justice and penitentiary system, which supports an authoritarian class structure, contradicts stated intents to bring about a democratic society run by a responsible citizenry.
Abstract
The Argentine correctional system, like the constitution, is built on a structure wherein power emanates from the top down. Those on the bottom have no inherent rights, as they would do in a democratic system. This is the system most common to Latin American countries but now being challenged by democratic forces. The contradiction between what the law says and what is actually done when it is implemented is clearly seen with respect to discipline, work, and treatment of inmates. In spite of lip service paid to the goal of helping inmates become law abiding, productive, responsible citizens after incarceration, the discipline meted out in correctional institutions is so repressive as to destroy the sense of self needed for responsible citizenship. Moreover, the conditions of forced labor within prisons merely constitute a worse case of the repression of the working class that takes place where the lowest classes have no control over the system of production. Finally, 'rehabilitation' in Argentine prisons does not allow for any inmate participation. Rather, inmates are manipulated and maintained in the same state of alienation that caused them to enter prison in the first place. The continual silence in Argentina on such issues and the impossibility of putting community-based alternatives into effect mean that the violation of fundamental rights will continue as will the antidemocratic institutions necessary for the survival of dictatorships. A total of 31 references from Latin-American, French, Italian, German, and American works are given.