According to information provided by the Buenos Aires government, the number of detainees in prisons in Buenos Aires has increased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, rising from 100 to 1800 in 2023. This situation has generated tensions between the Buenos Aires government and the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, as no agreement has been reached to alleviate prison overcrowding.
A source from the Buenos Aires government stated: "We will have 20% more prisoners." The conflict originated in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the government of Alberto Fernández sought to transfer prisoners from the Buenos Aires municipalities to federal prisons, which local authorities consider a strategy to reduce the prison population at the federal level.
Currently, 556 detainees are under indictment and 1504 are processed in Buenos Aires prisons. According to government statements, many detainees have been in precarious conditions for an extended time: "Today we have 29 individuals who are about to complete a year of detention, 144 between one and two years, and 29 more than two years in a police station."
In response to this issue, it is expected that the head of the Buenos Aires government, Jorge Macri, will announce the creation of the Buenos Aires Penitentiary Service with the aim of accelerating the transfer of the national prison system to the City. A bill is planned to be presented during the opening of sessions in the Legislature to facilitate this transfer, with the hope of resolving the differences with Bullrich.
It is estimated that this measure could only absorb about 5% of the current prison population of Buenos Aires, which generates significant costs for the City. In 2024, the expenditure on the management of detainees amounted to $70,161,000,000, with an average daily cost of $83,576 per detainee. While a solution is sought, there is concern over the lack of urgency in the transfers of around 400 convicted prisoners to federal prisons by Bullrich, which exacerbates the overcrowding in the City’s municipalities.
In summary, prison overcrowding in Buenos Aires is a growing problem, and the lack of agreements and effective actions between the Buenos Aires government and the Minister of Security generates tensions and complicates the situation in the City’s prisons.
