Abstract
This article analyzes the functioning of the Colônia Agrícola do Distrito Federal, located in Vila Dois Rios, Ilha Grande, in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1942, the Colônia Agrícola de Fernando de Noronha, where political prisoners were imprisoned, moved to Ilha Grande. Unlike the horror scenes described by Graciliano Ramos in the previous decade, research data shows a radical change in the functioning of the penitentiary system. Based on a set of interviews with former residents of Vila Dois Rios, but also considering data files, newspapers and biographical accounts of former political prisoners, this article analyzes the invisibility of the punitive process and the relationship between prison and society.
Keywords:
Ilha Grande; Colônia Agrícola do Distrito Federal; punishment; penitentiary system