Flávio Bolsonaro Unveils Ambitious Prison Expansion Plan in Brazil

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party's presidential candidate and a primary contender against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the upcoming October elections, has announced a bold initiative to address Brazil's prison crisis.

During a recent meeting in São Paulo with El Salvador's justice and public security minister, Gustavo Villatoro, Bolsonaro proposed creating 500,000 new prison spaces over four years, drawing inspiration from President Nayib Bukele's controversial security policies. This plan includes the construction of five maximum-security federal prisons, dubbed 'Treva'.

Bolsonaro emphasized the need for stricter legislation, arguing, "There are few prisoners in Brazil, there should be more; there are not more only because the legislation is weak." He suggested minimum sentences of eight years for mobile phone theft, as Brazil grapples with a prison population that already exceeds 964,000.

The senator's meeting lasted about an hour, during which he expressed skepticism about dismantling criminal factions in Brazil. Villatoro countered with examples from El Salvador, where the government claims to have successfully regained public security, despite international human rights concerns regarding their methods.

Source: en.mercopress.com