UNA REFLEXIÓN SOBRE LA CRUELDAD EN LAS CÁRCELES | “EL SEXTO”, DE JOSÉ MARÍA ARGUEDAS

The dehumanization of individuals who commit crimes is the norm. We rejoice every time we think about what happens when a sexual predator, a thief, or a kidnapper goes to jail, because we consider it the deserved punishment for their crimes, as if we were perpetuating the Christian vision of hell: if it exists, let's emulate it on earth, behind bars and walls: confinement is not enough. Prisoners must suffer the pain they caused, plus interest. And what can be said of those who are unjustly imprisoned? What about those who enter for a minor offense and leave as experts in the worst criminal practices, because they needed to adapt to survive? Today I want to talk about the novel El Sexto (The Sixth), by José María Arguedas, a novel that departs from the more intimate and Andean tone of the rest of his work, but which, in my opinion, is one of his best, due to the painful portrait it paints of an era in which, as he himself points out in his prologue, he experienced the worst and the best of Peru, united under the same confinement. Follow me on my social media, it would help me a lot (direct link in my channel info): Instagram: @relatos_insomnes TikTok: @relatos.insomnes Sister channel: @prisionerodelinsomnio #prisons #dictatorships #indigenism #socialcriticism