VZCZCXRO2384
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0171/01 0941300
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031300Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8100
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9233
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 3356
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3109
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2661
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 3766
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0713
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2357
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4064
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8666
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000171 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/USOAS, INL, DRL 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/T/ATA 
NSC FOR TOMASULO 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID FOR LAC/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI ASEC KCRM BR
SUBJECT: REFORMING SAO PAULO'S JUVENILE CORRECTION SYSTEM 
 
REF: A) 07 Sao Paulo 873 B) Sao Paulo 87 and previous 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
Summary------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Sao Paulo's juvenile correctional system continues to 
battle its image as a network of uncaring staff and unsanitary 
facilities that turns young petty thieves into hardened criminals. 
Observers agree that sustained growth and development depend on 
Brazil's investing in its youth, especially by improving education 
and healthcare as well as addressing juvenile crime.  Sao Paulo 
State's Center for the Socio-Educational Care of the Adolescent 
(CASA) Foundation -- re-labeled in 2006 from its former acronym 
FEBEM as part of its image clean-up efforts -- claims to be taking 
serious steps to address criticism of its infrastructure and 
internal policies and seeking ways to turn young lawbreakers into 
contributing members of society.  In an environment in which the 
state is having a difficult time dealing with public security 
challenges in general (Ref A), a solution to youth crime could be an 
important first step.  Critics of CASA claim that no matter how you 
package the revamped system, it is still rife with human rights 
horror stories that contribute to rising crime.  Even with 
increasing state budgets, critics see no real political will to help 
the poor, who comprise most of the youth penitentiary network's 
detainees.  However, some human rights NGOs credit CASA with 
responding to public pressure by making a serious effort at reform 
and internal improvement, and the Governor has reportedly made 
budgetary commitments in support of such efforts.  End Summary. 
 
CASA Developments 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The CASA Foundation, created in 1979 under its previous 
name, FEBEM (the State Foundation for the Social Well-Being of the 
Minor), is a network of 31 units built to house lawbreakers -- 
mostly petty thieves but also rapists and murderers -- between the 
ages of 12 and 21.  Each facility is designed to hold at most sixty 
inmates, for a total of 5,460 state-wide.  CASA, although separated 
from the adult correctional system, is criticized for the same types 
of abuses found in state prisons (Ref B).  Families of the 
incarcerated say that interned adolescents are denied basic human 
rights and that the benefits of the state's economic growth, which 
should translate into more resources for critical social programs 
such as youth corrections, are being spent elsewhere, leaving the 
same problems in place.  Media stories abound about poor conditions 
in CASA facilities and allegations of "torture" and "abuse" of the 
incarcerated.  (Note: State Secretary for Justice Luiz Antonio 
Guimaraes Marrey recently reportedly had to issue an order stopping 
guards from using paintball bullets, sometimes even previously 
frozen by guards in order to increase pain, to "control" inmates. 
End Note.) 
 
CASA Criticisms 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) President Conceicao Paganele of the Association of Mothers 
and Friends of Children and Adolescents in Risk (AMAR), a support 
network of the families of the incarcerated, told Poloff that no 
matter how you label the juvenile incarceration system, whether you 
call it FEBEM or re-market it as CASA, the institution is still 
going to be the scene of nightmarish guard abuses until the state 
takes action to correct inherent problems.  Paganele, who is the 
mother of a teenager in the system and under whose leadership AMAR 
won the National Prize for Human Rights in 2001, complained bitterly 
that incarcerated youth are not provided with clothes, live in 
disease- and drug-infested prison conditions, are offered no 
vocational or educational training opportunities, and are regularly 
beaten.  Paganele told Poloff that she physically saw evidence of 
torture, including smashed faces and broken arms and legs, when she 
 
SAO PAULO 00000171  002 OF 003 
 
 
visited CASA facilities, as well as cells where the incarcerated are 
left locked up for days at a time.  She said that it was for these 
reasons that incarcerated youth staged a number of rebellions in the 
late 1990's and will continue to lead revolts in the future. 
Paganele alleges that the state has no interest in reforming the 
CASA system because almost all the incarcerated youth come from poor 
backgrounds.  She stated that if the sons of politicians get in 
trouble, their parents pay off judges to ensure they will not serve 
time.  Because the poor do not control Brazil's levers of power or 
have the money to buy off the courts, CASA will continue to remain a 
broken entity, she said, regardless of the country's improving 
economic situation. 
 
A New Future for CASA? 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In part because of repeated criticism from the 
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) over reports of 
torture, deaths and rebellions, as well as complaints that offenders 
lose contact with their families, further ostracizing them from 
society and leading to future behavioral problems, FEBEM evolved 
into CASA in 2006.  The CASA system is pledging to take these 
concerns to heart, including opening new and better-equipped 
facilities, beyond the 34 recently built, closer to the families of 
the youth.  Additionally, because of previous overcrowding issues 
and lack of supervision due to large numbers of incarcerated youth, 
CASA is in the process of building smaller units throughout its 
network.  CASA aims to construct 26 more facilities "as soon as 
possible" while simultaneously dismantling the old units. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Berenice Giannella, president of CASA since 2005, claimed 
that a new philosophy of work is being implemented that has led to 
remarkable results.  She said that accusations of torture and 
violence against adolescents have decreased significantly, citing a 
greater government budgetary commitment and CASA's dismantling of 
larger complexes and building of the smaller facilities that are 
also closer to the offenders' families.  She added that riots are 
almost non-existent now, and that CASA has eliminated prolonged 
confinement.  She credits these changes with leading to a recidivism 
rate that has dropped from 29 percent in 2006 to 18 percent today. 
Giannella admitted that the system still faces a range of 
challenges, citing as an example a February incident in which 
inmates beat a 15-year-old boy to death in a CASA unit.  The boy was 
killed by other adolescents during a fight, even though CASA is 
supposed to guarantee the young prisoners' security.  Giannella 
attributes improvements partly to Sao Paulo State Governor Jose 
Serra's support.  Serra has promised CASA that he would fund the 
construction of all new facilities in 2008.  (Note: Previous 
governors have also made this promise but did not necessarily follow 
through on their pledges.  End Note.)  CASA is also focused on 
training its staff, particularly security guards. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Marcos Fuchs, Director of the NGO Pro Bono Institute, gave 
Giannella credit for trying to clean up a difficult situation. 
Giannella has made efforts to improve the system, including 
emphatically opposing any violence or harsh punishment directed at 
the incarcerated youth, he said.  Eloisa Machado, coordinator of the 
NGO Conectas, agreed, stating that the number of cases of abuse she 
has seen is decreasing as CASA continues to focus on internal 
improvement.  She credited a convergence of complaints from the 
public and media, NGOs and the judiciary as leading to a build-up in 
pressure for change. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Many human rights contacts tell us that the country's 
economic growth is not necessarily leading to greater promotion of 
social justice.  The problems that persist within the CASA system 
are an illustration of this critique.  It is vital for youth 
 
SAO PAULO 00000171  003 OF 003 
 
 
penitentiary authorities to take advantage of the Governor's 
apparent commitment and larger state budgets to address human rights 
concerns and public security challenges in CASA.  Tangible 
improvements in the juvenile corrections system would demonstrate 
the state's commitment to share the benefits of growth with some of 
its most marginalized citizens.  Programs such as those run by INL's 
Office of Anticrime Programs aimed at reducing drugs and violence, 
already piloted in one CASA facility, could be helpful in this 
effort.  CASA has asked INL to implement another such program, 
perhaps in a female juvenile unit this time.  These initiatives can 
go a long way towards promoting social justice and ensuring that 
Brazil's increasing economic opportunities are reaching beyond the 
upper and middle classes.  End Comment. 
 
WHITE