Person in a bakery in MontevideoMIDES
Life after prison is an obstacle course that is difficult to complete. Between January and May this year, 3,900 people regained their freedom in Uruguay, most of them young people who barely got out with nothing on their backs and not always with the support of their families. You have to find out where they live and how to survive. Like every neighbor’s son, but with a different nuance, social stigma is perhaps the most difficult hurdle to overcome. Prejudice and indifference hinder the integration of these people into the community and partly explain why 60%, according to official estimates, relapse.
This issue was addressed on June 20 in an activity convened by the Uruguayan government, the first since the launch of the Opportunities Network initiative in May to promote the integration of ex-prisoners into the labor market. Its promoters define it as a participatory space that has so far been integrated by 100 entities, including public bodies, social organizations, cooperatives and private sector companies. As part of this initiative, companies that hire furloughed workers can receive a government subsidy of 60% to 80% of the salary paid for a year.
“We are convinced that it is necessary to break down prejudices and turn them into opportunities,” says Daniel Fernández, general coordinator of the National Directorate of Freedmen (Dinali). This body, which reports to the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), operates in prisons for the six months before inmates are released and continues to accompany them outside prison if people voluntarily consent. As he explains, the Opportunities Network seeks to connect different public and private entities working with this population to allow for better coordination and exchanges in favor of inclusion.
A person dismissed from a blacksmith training course in Montevideo.MIDES
“On average, 25 people find their freedom every day. They are people who travel with us and whom we meet on the street. We cannot stand aside as a society, we have to break down these prejudices,” emphasizes Fernández. When they are released, he explains, those who come to the Dinali offices primarily ask for help in finding a job. “Access to work leads to full inclusion in society and reduces recidivism. The focus is on being able to generate these opportunities, but there are still countless previous steps to work on, such as training,” he adds.
In 2022, Dinali provided various types of support – training, accompaniment, employment opportunities, to around 2,700 of the 8,600 people who regained their freedom. The latest data suggests 330 are working in various fields, although authorities expect that number to rise significantly in the July assessment, two months after the Opportunity Network launched. With the tax benefits envisaged by the law, they expect that private enterprise will become more involved and that this will help break the cycle of neglect and violence that many of the freedmen experience on the streets after spending time in prison in very complex conditions.
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
subscribe to
Uruguay’s prison population has tripled in the past two decades, reaching 14,500 in 2022, according to the latest report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Prison System. 75% are young men under the age of 35 with a track record. Life is marked by dropping out of education and problematic drug use. With a growth rate of 10% per year, the collapse of part of the system has led to high levels of overcrowding and internal violence. This report states that only 10% of all inmates are in prisons that meet the conditions and opportunities for rehabilitation and social integration.
A released person cuts onions in a kitchen class in Montevideo.MIDES
Wilmar Pintos spent 18 years of his life in Libertad Prison in the south of the country. He was released from prison a few years ago and now lives in a shelter in Mides for people like him who didn’t have a home. He remembers working in the prison kitchen for 15 years and it was there that he discovered his passion for reading, theater and writing. “You’re not in prison while you’re reading a book,” he says. Through Dinali, he got a job in the cleaning and sweeping department of one of Montevideo’s municipalities. At the age of 58, he wants to devote himself fully to supporting the displaced people, perhaps within this network of opportunities.
“The social commitment of state institutions and NGOs is fundamental, but the key lies in the corporate sector,” says Pintos. It highlights the challenge posed by problem drug use, which according to official figures affects 80% of prison inmates. “Drugs are a disease, it’s a struggle, it’s the worst thing that can happen to you,” he says. He acknowledges that the state is taking steps to address this problem, but insists that the underlying commitment must come from society as a whole. “We have to look at each other and learn to listen to each other,” he says.
“If we want to live in a fairer, safer and more inclusive society, it is clear that companies must work together,” explains Jorge Penedo, Head of Human Resources at construction company Teyma. As stated, the company has been working with redundant people for 16 years, in some cases with success, in others not, “nothing different than what happens to people outside of this field, in the labor market in general.” Once they come in , continues Penedo, the dismissed people follow their own process, just like any other worker. “We do not expect or intend to give them any differential treatment. When they join, their performance will determine their progress within the company,” he says.
A released person matches fresh cement at a training session in Montevideo.MIDES
For Pintos, the Red de Oportunidades space needs to focus on the youngest, who make up the majority in the prison system and are left behind when they regain their freedom. “You have to help these children, educate them, give them a chance,” he notes. Fernández from the National Directorate for Freedmen concludes: “Every day 25 freedmen integrate into society. Do they really integrate? No, theoretically they integrate. Full freedom depends on what we work for as a society and understand that this is a matter for everyone.”
Subscribe to the EL PAÍS America newsletter here and receive the latest news from the region.