Private prisons failed in the U.S., but Brazil wants to copy that model

Private prisons, which have business models dependent on incarceration, increase the likelihood of recidivism. The U.S. wants to move on from the system — but Brazil seeks to embrace it

private prisons brazil — The Pedrinhas Prison Complex, in Maranhão, saw in 2013 one of Brazil’s worst prison riots ever. Photo: Zanone Fraissat/Folhapress

Oct 19, 2023 11:10 1 min read (Updated: Oct 19, 2023 12:37)

The Brazilian prison population reached 832,000. Per data from the World Prison Brief — a research project developed by the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research and Birkbeck, University of London — only China (1.6 million) and the U.S. (1.76 million) have...