Relations between the Brazilian state and the incarceration of Indigenous peoples: a look at the situation in Mato Grosso do Sul in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This article reflects on relations between the criminal justice system and Indigenous peoples through a perspective that combines anthropology and criminology as complimentary theoretical lenses through which contemporary Indigenous incarcerations can be understood. It charts relations between the historical constitution of the Brazilian criminal justice system and the ideas of ‘necropolitics’ as a defining thread of policies that impact the conditions in which Indigenous peoples are incarcerated. The article considers some of the effects of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on the prison system of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is possible to evaluate the effects of measures undertaken by the National Justice Council to alter the levels of provisional imprisonment, even if the overall average of imprisoned Indigenous peoples continues to rise. To this end, survey and data processing were carried out using a deductive methodology, coupled with a sketch of historical considerations.