Thanks to the message of Pope Francis, conditions for Bolivian prisoners is set to improve a bit.
When Pope Francis visited Bolivia last July, he had a meeting with prisoners at the Reform Center of Santa Cruz-Palmasola, one of the most controversial and over-crowded prisons in the country, housing some 4,000 inmates.
According to the Fides news agency, after the Holy Father’s visit, the Bolivian government has decided the “daily sum” (the government’s allotment for the upkeep of each prisoner) will rise to 8 bolivianos (about 1 euro or $1.25). The increase will apply to all 13,573 detainees in the country’s penitentiaries, prison director general Jorge Lopez has announced.
“During the meeting with Bolivia’s prison delegates in Palmasola, Pope Francis’ request for intervention was presented, so then we worked together with government delegates to meet these needs,” Lopez said in a press conference, according to a report sent to Fides.
“Our debate ended – he said- with the approval of administrative resolution number 62/2015 for an increase in the ‘daily keep’ for prison inmates in Bolivia, from 6,60 bolivianos to 8 bolivianos, as from the month of August.”
The government also decided to improve prison health care services.
