Imprisonment between legal discourse and biopolitics: a critical analysis of the Brazilian prison system

Abstract

The text analyzes imprisonment beyond the legal dogma that defines it as a space for serving sentences and social reintegration. The central problem lies in the contradiction between this legal rationality and the actual operation of the Brazilian system, which is marked by the massive imprisonment of provisional detainees and social selectivity. The objective is to investigate the historical-political conditions that made imprisonment the punishment par excellence. Adopting a theoretical and bibliographical research methodology based on the philosophy of Michel Foucault and the analysis of the 1988 Constitution and of the Law of Penal Execution, the study examines the transition from torture to discipline. As a possible conclusion, it points out that the prison system does not fail, but triumphs in its biopolitical function: it masks inequalities under the guise of rehabilitation, acting, in reality, to neutralize class struggles, manage illegalities, and docilize marginalized bodies to meet the economic needs of the capitalist market.