Almost a month ago I was transferred to the prison where I will have to serve my sentence, the CPF in Santiago. This prison has a rather atypical structure compared to other prisons in this territory since in some areas it maintains the foundations of the old convent that fulfilled the “correctional work for bad women”, from there different modules and sections have been built. Among the sections that were raised to segregate specific groups of prisoners are: The Special High Security Section (SEAS), Nueva Esperanza and Direct Custody.
SEAS was born mainly to house prisoners for crimes of political violence in the ’90s, in those years, those prisoners belonged to political/military/subversive groups (FPMR, MIR, Mapu-Lautaro). With the release of the political prisoners, little by little, the High Security began to be occupied by those who had a history of escapes and/or refractory to the prison regime and leaders of trafficking gangs. Until 2010 was when the prisoners for political violence returned to the SEAS, the first “Bomb Case” managed to get the first anti-authoritarian women to take up the thread of struggle left by the first political prisoners. Over the years, the SEAS continued with the same dynamic, until a few years ago when this section is used to keep prisoners while another permanent space is enabled for them.
Upon my arrival at this prison I was informed that the SEAS would return to being the place of yesteryear, so I would have to be there. All this came to nothing since, today there is a group of approximately 60 women brought from the San Miguel prison, these women live in deplorable conditions.
Another of these special modules is “Nueva Esperanza”, which has only and exclusively women for crimes against humanity, all these prisoners were responsible for some of the many atrocities that occurred during the dictatorship, I am referring to torture, disappearances, permanent kidnappings, homicides, etc. Most of these women are former uniformed members of the F.F.A.A. and the forces of order and security. Although I do not know the living conditions of the torturers, since special care is taken in everything that surrounds them, but even so I would dare to assure that they live in a place more similar to a nursing home than a prison.
Finally, there is the module that I am currently in, Direct Custody. This section was born out of the need to segregate prisoners for violent crimes and high media connotation, this over the years has been maintained to some extent. This section has also been used to maintain very specific cases of women for political violence, among these was a former FPMR militant and now me.
Since I entered this prison, both my comrades and I have requested authorization from the different bureaucratic instances of the gendarmerie to continue my university studies that I began in 2022 in the San Miguel prison. What has not been authorized.
A little over two years ago I managed to be the first inmate while in pretrial detention in Santiago to start university studies. An issue that was not without problems, which one by one were solved thanks to the set of solidarity wills that made it possible for me to this day to be in my third year as a student in the Law career.
In this prison I have not been able to resume my studies because, according to what was reported by the gendarmerie personnel, the only thing missing is the authorization of the Regional Director, who can take as much time as he deems appropriate to simply manage the continuity of something that has already been going on for years.
It seems incredible that the facilities are not given and that impediments are put against something that seems to be as basic and essential as studying, we cannot ignore that power structures are capable of breaking their own rules over and over again, according to their convenience.
What is it that the high command of the gendarmerie fears to give way to the authorization that does not allow me to study? Will they have direct orders from the Ministry of Justice or another agency? Or could it be that he is apprehensive that if he gives authorization the prison population will know that there is no legal impediment that does not allow them to have higher education while in prison? Or perhaps, are they exhausting all instances to prevent a prisoner (which they call common, but for whom they maintain rather “uncommon” regimes) from having legal knowledge? Whatever the answer from my side, I demand that they comply with their own laws and that they allow me to keep my university studies.
To this end, I appeal to all forms of solidarity that can put pressure on the regional and national directorate of the gendarmerie to process the pertinent authorizations so that I can continue studying.
With all this, I reaffirm that for greater degrees of autonomy, the only option for those of us who choose the path of denial against domination is the persistent struggle, which would remain within these walls if it were not for the dozens of hands of solidarity.
Mónica Caballero Sepúlveda
Anarchist Prisoner
May 2024.