The workshops and the penal work of the convicts of the Casa de Correção de Porto Alegre (1895-1930)

The article analyzes the implementation of the penitentiary system at the Casa de Correção de Porto Alegre, promoted by Rio Grande do Sul government representatives gathered around the Rio Grande Republican Party (PRR), from the beginning of the government of Júlio de Castilhos, until the end of the Old Republic, with the rise of Vargas (1895-1930). Based on abundant documentation (messages, reports, regulations, newspapers, photographs, etc.), together with the support of specialized historiography, attempts were made to partially reconstruct the efforts undertaken by the aforementioned governments to transform the largest deposit of undesirables in the State in a model of penal-prison efficacy, especially through a policy of promoting profit generation through the use of incarcerated labor in workshops located in the prison. The theoretical assumptions question the equation of economic success with a possible success of the correctional regime.

Keywords:
Casa de Correção de Porto Alegre; Penal work; Partido Republicano Rio-grandense (PRR)