Why a Tough-on-Crime Approach Won’t Solve Brazil’s ‘Epidemic’ of Prison Violence

Why a Tough-on-Crime Approach Won’t Solve Brazil’s ‘Epidemic’ of Prison Violence
Family members attend the funeral of an inmate who was killed during a riot at a prison in Altamira, Para state, Brazil, July 31, 2019 (AP photo by Raimundo Pacco).

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a new series on prison conditions and criminal justice policy around the world.

Sixty-two people are dead following a riot at a prison in northern Brazil earlier this week. Fifty-eight inmates were killed when a fight broke out between rival gangs at a prison in Altamira, in Para state, including 16 who were beheaded. Four more inmates were murdered while being transferred to a different facility. In an email interview with WPR, Robert Muggah, co-founder and research director at the Igarape Institute in Rio de Janeiro, explains why deadly prison riots are so common in Brazil and why President Jair Bolsonaro’s pledges to crack down on violent crime will probably only make the problem worse.

World Politics Review: What are the main drivers of violence in Brazil’s prisons?

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.