Emergence of a Policy, closure of a sector: regarding the management of penitentiary health care in Brazil

The aim of this study is to understand recent transformations in penitentiary health care management in Brazil, during the implementation of the National Policy for Comprehensive Health Care for People Deprived of Liberty in the Prison System, and the closure of the National Sector for Penitentiary Health Care. The scientific problem investigated is the language of penitentiary health care policy. The theoretical-methodological framework adopted is Pierre Bourdieu's genetic structuralism. In this manner, we carry out an analysis of documents and public statements in search of State categories and classifications. We note the consolidation of a state classification that separates the 'penitentiary' domain from the 'prison' domain, as well as the creation of the State category of 'person deprived of liberty in the prison system'. Penitentiary health care management constitutes itself as a question of primary care.