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This month 10 students were supposed to join me in Brazil for a study abroad course titled "Inequality, Race, and Gender in Brazil." The COVID-19 crisis made us change our plans. After the trip was cancelled we moved the course online and students could explore any issue related to race, gender, and inequality in Brazil. They completed various assignments, including a larger research paper reviewing the literature on a topic of their interest. After they were done with their research I asked them to write a blog post outlining the things they learned and some of the most intriguing aspects of their research. This is the second post of the series. Before this class I knew very little about Brazil. Essentially, all of my knowledge stemmed from a few articles and shows that I had seen over the years. I knew that the primary language was Portuguese, the country was the largest in South America, the largest rainforests were located in the country, deforestation was a major problem, and there are some indigenous groups left in the country. This were just general facts that I knew but I had no in-depth information. I also had no knowledge about Brazil’s history other than it had been colonized by some entity from the East. Thus, one of the most interesting facts I learned from “Brazil: A Biography” was that Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese and became the seat of the Portuguese crown. The king arrived in 1808 and the royal family did not leave Brazil until 1889 (Schwarcz, L. M., & Starling, H. M. M., p 180/353). Their reign had lasting effects that can still be seen today. The goal of the monarchy was for the country to prosper and be a powerful entity in the world. Due to this goal the Brazilian economy became a focus which led to the slave trade and racial inequality that still persists today. Another fact I learned about Brazil that helped me form a better understanding of the country was the importance and prominence of slavery. Slavery began essentially upon the colonizers’ arrival to the country. The indigenous populations were exploited for labor and when their numbers started to decrease the importation of African slaves began (Schwarcz, L. M., & Starling, H. M. M., p 55). Slavery in Brazil, just as in other countries, created racial divisions. Even after the abolishment of slavery in 1888 individuals of African descent faced discrimination, prejudice, and inequality (Schwarcz, L. M., & Starling, H. M. M., p 335) . All of which are still issues today. For my research, I used the information regarding inequality and race that was presented in “Brazil: A Biography” and combined it with my interest in the criminal justice system. Therefore, my research topic was on inequality within the prison system of Brazil with a small focus on race. I had previously done some research on mass incarceration within the United States and I had volunteered with ex-offenders at a center in St. Cloud. I also hope to become a criminal defense attorney so learning as much as I can about the criminal justice system in the United States and other countries will help me develop a better understanding of the systems and the individuals within them. Doing this research also allowed me to see what is working and what is not working in systems different from the United States and what could be changed or implemented here. My research consisted of academic sources as well as multiple media sources. The academic sources helped to give me a base understanding of the criminal justice system, the structure of the prisons, and specific issues within the prison system. In Brazil there are many branches of government with a multitude of agencies and organizations within the branches. Criminal investigations are mainly handled by the Federal and Civil Police (Mendonça, A. A Brief Account., p 64). There are laws in place which regulate the actions of those working within the criminal justice system. The main law is the 1941 Code of Criminal Procedure which regulates the criminal procedure in the country (Mendonça, A. The Effective Collection., p 58). The prisons in Brazil are not run by a single entity. Rather, each state is responsible for the organization and maintenance of their prisons (Dias, Camila., Salla, Fernando., p 398). Since each state controls their own prisons there will be differing prison structures, resources, and conditions. Fundamentally, the prison system is unequal. The incarceration policy in Brazil “disproportionately and systematically affects black, low-income youth with low levels of education,” (Criminal Justice Network, p 5). Black men and women are convicted at greater rates than whites. Even though there is no difference in the number of crimes committed between blacks and whites (Alves, J. A., p 235). This trend cannot only be seen in Brazil but in other countries such as the United States. A country where slavery was also prominent. Apart from there being inequality in the prison system there are other issues as well. Some of these issues, that the academic articles helped form an understanding of, include a lack of state legal representation, and overcrowding. In Brazil state legal representation is in high demand since a majority of the incarcerated population cannot afford private attorneys. However, the “number of public defenders is insufficient to attend to the increasing numbers of poor black inmates,” (Alves, J. A., p 233). This is just another instance where racial inequality is present. As for overcrowding, every prison in Brazil is over occupancy. Many prisoners are living in areas of less than a square meter per prisoner (Darke, S., p 274). Since there is overcrowding and understaffing within the prisons the prisoners are used to make up for the staffing shortages. There are prisons in which inmates are turnkeys, those that lock and unlock cells, entrance guards, and in charge of other common tasks that paid staff should be doing (Darke, S., p 276). There are many issues within the Brazilian prison systems that do, and do not relate to race. The academic articles were essential for forming a base understanding of the system as a whole and how the prisons functioned. The media sources helped further expand upon topics that were presented in the academic articles as well as bringing new issues within the prison system to light. Another strength of the media sources was the suggestions for improvements to the system. Brazilian prisons are known for violence. As of 2019, “24 of Brazil's 26 states (and district capital) have suffered prison violence in the last decade,” (Muggah, R., Opinion: Brazil's Prison Massacres Send A Dire Message.). This violence primarily stems from overcrowding but it also stems from the criminal organizations within the prisons. These organizations are quite prevalent and the prisons are fertile grounds for the running of the organizations. In prisons, gangs can “operate relatively freely from inside, thanks to easy access to cellphones and other methods of communication,” (Waldron, T., A 'Problem From Hell': Why Brazil's Deadly Prison Riots Keep Happening). These articles were also instrumental in my understanding of what needs to be done to improve the system and the role that the government is playing in these improvements. As one may have guessed, the government is not doing much. So far to address the overcrowding, which is the main source for issues within the system, the government is building more prisons. However, the inmate population is growing almost at a rate double to that of new prison beds (Waldron, T., A 'Problem From Hell': Why Brazil's Deadly Prison Riots Keep Happening). The government has also separated the leaders of the criminal organizations from their followers but this failed. It strengthened the organizations because it has allowed them to expand to new facilities (Mellen, R., Why Brazil has been so prone to deadly prison riots.). The improvements that need to be made are not going to be made with the current Brazilian government. Especially with a president that when campaigning pledged to crack down on violence, thus increasing prison populations, and used the familiar Brazilian refrain, “a good criminal is a dead criminal,” (Muggah, R., Toboada, C., & Tinoco, D., Q&A: Why Is Prison Violence So Bad in Brazil?). For an improvement to occur there needs to be a reduction in the number of individuals incarcerated, an increase in access to legal representation, and new legislation. One way to reduce overcrowding is to reduce sentence length as well as resolving outstanding cases. This could be done by “incentivizing federal and state-level judges, prosecutors and public defenders to resolve outstanding cases and penalizing those who do not,” (Muggah, R., Toboada, C., & Tinoco, D., Q&A: Why Is Prison Violence So Bad in Brazil?). There would also be a decrease in the incarcerated population if certain crimes were decriminalized and there was rehabilitation instead of incarceration. With increased representation there would be more individuals available to resolve outstanding cases and reduce overcrowding. New legislation could also be implemented to reduce sentences and increase resources for prisons to improve their conditions. Overall, there is great inequality within the prison system of Brazil. Inequality related to race and gender. Much of this inequality stems from slavery and the social stratification that it created. The “characteristics of the past remain interwoven in the fabric of today’s society and cannot be removed by goodwill or decree,” (Schwarcz, L. M., & Starling, H. M. M, p 585). Thus, for change to occur there needs to be a restructuring and a change within broader society. Article Recommendations Darke, S. (2013). Inmate governance in Brazilian prisons. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 52(3), 272-284. doi:10.1111/hojo.12010
Works Cited Alves, J. A. (2016). On mules and bodies: black captivities in the Brazilian racial Criminal Justice Network. (2016, Oct 6). Human Rights and Criminal Justice in Brazil. Darke, S. (2013). Inmate governance in Brazilian prisons. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 52(3), 272-284. doi:10.1111/hojo.12010 Dias, Camila., Salla, Fernando. (2013). Organized crime in brazilian prisons: The example of the pcc. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology,(2013). doi:10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.37 Mellen, R. (2019, July 30). Why Brazil has been so prone to deadly prison riots. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/07/30/why-brazil-has-been-so-prone-deadly-prison-riots/ Mendonça, A. (2014). The Criminal Justice System in Brazil: A Brief Account, pg. 63–70. Mendonça, A. (2014). The Effective Collection and Utilization of Evidence in Criminal Cases: Current Situation and Challenges in Brazil, pg. 58-62. Muggah, R. (2019, May 28). Opinion: Brazil's Prison Massacres Send A Dire Message. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727667809/opinion-brazils-gruesome-prison-massacres-send-a-dire-message Muggah, R., Toboada, C., & Tinoco, D. (2019, August 2). Q&A: Why Is Prison Violence So Bad in Brazil? Retrieved from https://www.americasquarterly.org/content/qa-why-prison-violence-so-bad-brazil Schwarcz, L. M., & Starling, H. M. M. (2018). Brazil : a biography (First American). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Waldron, T. (2019, July 31). A 'Problem From Hell': Why Brazil's Deadly Prison Riots Keep Happening. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brazil-prison-riots-jair-bolsonaro_n_5d405762e4b0d24cde065093  About the author: My name is Dakotah Dorholt and I am a recent graduate of the College of Saint Benedict. I majored in Sociology and plan on continuing my education at Drake University Law School. I am originally from Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. My favorite classes that I took during my four years were Criminology and Corrections as well as Race and Ethnic Groups in the United States. The best experience I had at St. Bens was studying abroad in Cork, Ireland.
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