Notes on the Bahian penal enigma: subnational variation and low imprisonment rates in Brazil

The arrival of mass incarceration in Brazil has placed the country as an important setting for investigation in comparative penology. Having reached more than seven hundred thousand prisoners in 2019, the country has consolidated itself as the largest prison population in Latin America. However, the country presents significant internal variation among the subnational states. The situation of imprisonment in Bahia, for instance, subverts the process of Brazilian prison expansion, displaying the lowest imprisonment rate among the 27 subnational states of the federation. As such, this different pattern of imprisonment offers a conundrum demanding explanation. The present argument analyzes the reasons behind the different trajectory of imprisonment in this state, addressing its political background, its adoption of prison privatization and the outlook of its penal apparatus. It attempts to explore this Bahian enigma by shedding light on some of its specific developments, but also closely examining imprisonment conditions in the southern region of the state.