La pobreza en los presos poblanos (1821- 1851)

Abstract

Whit a qualitative methodology, this research article focuses on reflecting the situation of poverty of prisoners in Puebla, from 1821 to 1851, in public jails; the details about it will be presented thanks to the speeches and discourses used at the time, ranging from the regulations of the time to the “Actas de Cabildo Municipal en Puebla” (Town Council Minutes in Puebla). Poverty is a fundamental aspect of the discourse of the authorities that tagged the search for solutions to the economic hardships of those incarcerated, those who miraculously survived thanks to compassion and charity of certain inhabitants of the city. It can also be noted that poverty is stated as a social issue noted in the discourses of the model of adequate behavior, establishing as such, the hierarchies between authority (good and pious man) and the prisoner (poor and bad man).