More than 20 thousand pesos per month. That is the figure a lawmaker from San Juan put on the table in 2017, which, according to him, comes from the prison budget itself divided among the more than 1,300 inmates at the provincial prison.
The lawmaker, a member of the Convicción Federal bloc, did not stop at the number. He went further with a phrase that sums up his argument: “The State gives them food, clothing and medical care, and demands nothing in return”. With that idea, he pushed a bill to require prisoners to work, inspired by a similar initiative that was already being discussed in Mendoza.
The proposal sought to enter legislative consideration that same week. The lawmaker never explained exactly where the calculation of 20 thousand pesos came from, but the figure was enough to spark a debate that still resonates: what does a person serving a sentence give back to the State?
