The Venezuelan prison: from neoliberalism to the Bolivarian revolution

Coming of Age in the Penal System: Neoliberalism, ‘Mano Dura’ and the Reproduction of ‘Racialised’ Inequality in Honduras

“…7), this volume). However, as Antillano et al (2016) note, the current penal system in 'Bolivarian' Venezuela contradicts conventional wisdoms of a correlation between reduced socio-economic inequality and a milder punitive approach to crime and delinquency. Whilst Venezuela's prison population dipped significantly in the beginning of the twenty-first century-a period characterised by expansive pro-poor social policies and a political discourse emphasising structural explanatory models for crime-the prison population has been on a steady rise for the past near ten years (Antillano et al 2016:200).…”

“…Antillano et al (2016) has carefully documented similar conditions in the prisons in Venezuela. Starting in the 1990s, Venezuelan prisons have increasingly been characterised by the retreat of state order and the ascendance of a complex self-governed prison hierarchy that is thriving on an illegal economy within and beyond prison walls.…”

“…(Antillano et al 2016:201) Antillano et al (2016Antillano et al ( :2001 explain this apparent paradox through underlining the lopsided effects of social policies in the face of structural inequalities. Post-industrial societies, and not least rent-based countries such as Venezuela, continue to produce 'surplus' populations that 'remain excluded and marginalized and that are resistant to strategies of social inclusion ' (p. 201).…”

Venezuela (2015): Un régimen híbrido en crisis

“…Este también es un problema de vieja data -el sistema carcelario venezolano ha tenido una pésima reputación desde hace mucho tiempo, siendo considerado entre las más violentos de América Latina y el mundo-. Sin embargo, en los últimos años la mayor preocupación ha sido la pérdida de control de dichos centros de manos de los propios reclusos, lo cual no solo ha tenido como consecuencia la persistencia de la violencia en las cárceles, sino que, además, ha llevado a que esos recintos se consoliden como centros de distribución, organización y ejecución de delitos más allá de sus confines, con la ayuda de otras bandas o incluso de efectivos militares y policiales (véase Antillano et al, 2016). En algunos sitios las bandas de reclusos armados que los controlan son tan poderosas, que hasta tienen la oportunidad de organizar todo tipo de actividades (incluso de entretenimiento y diversión).…”

“I Don't Know How People on Minimum Wage Make it”: The Semiotic Scaling of Political Crisis and Emotions in Venezuela

“…According to Antillano (), the term “Pran” was not originally used in prisons, it seems to have originated in the local press as a shortening of “principal.” The term is now widely used in and out of prison to refer to gang leaders and notorious criminals (see also Antillano et al. ).…”