Between Modern Emotions and Traditional Practices: The use of Prison Labour in Public Works in the Department of Osorno (1874-1900)

Abstract

Through research based on primary sources, this article examines the discursive representations of the elites in the city of Osorno. It argues that the press built an emotional discourse that longed for modernity and operated as an argumentative excuse for the reproduction of prison practices. Primarily, the use of prison labor in public works, which was prohibited since the adoption of the Penal Code of 1874. The results indicate that the recurrence of an indiscipline narrative associated with the popular sectors justified the preservation of practices that served as mechanisms of public correction and contributed to the construction of public spaces.