SAN PEDRO- PRISON FACILITY OR URBAN SLUM?

UNCLAS LA PAZ 001322 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON BL SUBJECT: SAN PEDRO- PRISON FACILITY OR URBAN SLUM? -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. On May 4, Emboffs visited La Paz's San Pedro prison with Alvaro Guzman, head of the National Public Defender's Office. After the conclusion of the formal visit, Guzman took Emboffs on a tour of San Pedro's "neighborhoods," the prison sections corresponding to inmates' socio-economic levels. Although living conditions are far from ideal in the eyes of American tourists, in many ways San Pedro resembles an urban slum more than a prison facility. In contrast to most prison systems around the world, in San Pedro, the family structure can remain intact as children up to age 12 are permitted to live with their fathers inside the prison. San Pedro's rampant corruption allows the prison to operate as a city within a city. End summary. -------------- Justice Delayed -------------- ¶2. On May 4, Emboffs visited La Paz's San Pedro prison with Alvaro Guzman, head of the National Public Defender's Office. The trip was the first of two annual prison visits where inmates have the opportunity to issue formal complaints with local judges and prosecutors. In a surprisingly eloquent address, the president of San Pedro's electoral committee (the inmates' representative) went on record to protest a lack of medical care, work and educational opportunities, and insufficient food. (Note: According to the Electoral Committee President, there is only one doctor and one nurse for the 1503 inmates, and prisoners are only served two meals a day, forcing them to supplement their diet with their own money. End note.) The most troubling complaint was from an inmate that had resided in San Pedro for over four years without going to trial. The inmate was accused of armed robbery in a rural area, and the prosecutor's office argued that lack of transportation and difficulty traveling to the remote town had delayed the trial. According to a National Police report distributed at the prison visit, only 26 percent of San Pedro residents are serving a sentence, while the remainder are awaiting trial. -------------- The Apparent City of San Pedro -------------- ¶3. After the conclusion of the formal prison visit, Guzman took Emboffs on a tour of San Pedro's "neighborhoods," the prison sections corresponding to inmates' socio-economic levels. Inmates are required to buy their own cells in San Pedro. The affluent prisoners live in San Pedro's more upscale neighborhoods, and often have their own kitchenette, cable television, or private bathroom. The less fortunate inmates or those with no family on the outside to send them money live in the poor, more violent sections of San Pedro. Poor inmates often cram several people into a cell, or are forced to sleep in hallways, chapels or classrooms, or brave the chilly La Paz nights in courtyards. In addition, San Pedro is considered 500 percent overcrowded. To accommodate the overcrowding, many prison cells have been split in two, or inmates add on to the prison by building their own cells. -------------- Prison or Slum? -------------- ¶4. Although living conditions are far from ideal in the eyes of American tourists, in many ways San Pedro resembles an urban slum more than a prison facility. During the day, inmates walk freely through the prison, play soccer in one of the courtyards that doubles as an athletic field, and eat or shop at one of the inmate-owned restaurants or stores. Inmates must seek employment in prison to cover their living expenses, including housing, supplemental food, medication, and oftentimes, illicit drugs. There are two schools within San Pedro, an institute of higher-learning which offers computer, accounting, and business courses; and a trade school where prisoners are trained to be cobblers, tailors, electricians, and pastry chefs. Less than 50 percent of prisoners attend the schools. The prisoners argue that the low level of participation is due to the dilapidated state of the schools' infrastructure; that teachers often cannot enter the prison during normal class times; and that despite a rehabilitation law that states the hours a prisoner spends studying should be equivalent to a prisoners' working hours, prison authorities recognize only work hours. -------------- But Families Remain Intact... -------------- ¶5. In contrast to most prison systems around the world, in San Pedro, the family structure can remain intact. Children up to age 12 are permitted to live with their fathers inside the prison, and many mothers also choose to reside in San Pedro. Currently, 294 children reside in San Pedro. Younger children attend day care inside the prison, while the older children leave San Pedro during the day for school. For the 56 percent of Bolivian prison inmates that classify themselves as poor, San Pedro's relative freedom and security may be equivalent to or more attractive than the shantytowns where they originate. In this regard, San Pedro represents a relatively humane incarceration option for most of the prisoners who dwell there, despite its obvious failings. -------------- A Funny Kind of "Free Market Economy" -------------- ¶6. San Pedro's rampant corruption allows the prison to operate as a city with a city. Inmates are reliably reported to bribe guards and prison officials to allow them luxuries such as unlimited visitors, daytime releases, and permission to conceal drugs and alcohol in the prison. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of San Pedro inmates are accused of drug-related offenses. Drug trafficking, and even production, continues inside the prison. A 2006 study by the Latinamerican Center of Scientific Investigation (CELIN) reveals that drug use inside Bolivian prisons is one to ten times higher than in the urban population, and prison guards are complicit in the trafficking of narcotics from prison. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. San Pedro is a place of extremes-- corruption, violence, and poverty, yet all of the necessities provided by an urban slum. In Bolivia's penal system, all are not equal. Wealthy inmates enjoy better living conditions and access to justice, but for the poor, San Pedro is not always significantly different from their pre-prison lifestyle. End comment. GOLDBERG