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