The event revived the debate on prison management and led to the questioning of the Minister of the Interior, Nicolás Martinelli, by unanimous decision of Parliament.
Díaz highlighted that the unanimous vote to question the minister shows that the issue generates concern among all political actors with parliamentary representation, which he described as a positive sign. “We understand that it is a situation that has been getting worse over the years,” he commented, referring to the sustained deterioration of the prison system.
The legislator recalled that there were already prior warnings about the prison situation. In December 2022, a similar fire in the same unit also had fatal consequences, and during the presentation of a report by the parliamentary commissioner that warned about the saturation of the system, another incident was recorded. Despite having held conversations with the minister about measures to be implemented, Díaz denounced that none of the proposed actions to guarantee the integrity of prisoners and prison staff have been implemented.
The deputy emphasized that the “great chaos” within the prison system is related to the increase in the prison population and the ineffectiveness of administrative controls and processes. «Today there are more people imprisoned than ever and we do not feel safe outside. “Prison today is the main part of the problem,” said Díaz, emphasizing that the current system not only does not solve insecurity on the streets, but also contributes to perpetuating the cycle of crime.
Díaz pointed out that 60% of the prison population is serving sentences of less than 24 months, and that many of these people are imprisoned for crimes related to drug use. In this sense, he proposed a different vision based on restorative and therapeutic justice, as well as addiction treatment, as necessary alternatives to break the vicious cycle of addiction, crime and incarceration. “The cycle of addiction-consumption-crime to consume-street-prison does not seem to be broken if there are no effective treatments, and today there are none,” he added.
The fire on September 25 broke out when a group of prisoners attacked cell 94, where seven inmates were housed. Six of them died due to toxic smoke inhalation after being trapped by their attackers and unable to escape from the scene. The preliminary investigation indicated that the fire started when an inmate threw burning fabrics onto the victims’ beds.
Interpellation to Minister Martinelli regarding the situation of the prisons will be on Monday the 7th
