The present article analyzes the process of privatization through the financialization of the prison system in Brazil, based on recent policies that have incorporated public security and prison management into the sphere of private investment, and compares it with the broader Latin American context. It argues that this model is illegal in its foundation and ineffective in addressing the structural and contemporary challenges of public security, particularly organized crime. The analysis shows that privatization not only reproduces historical forms of delegating the state’s punitive power to private actors but also creates institutional arrangements that facilitate the strengthening of criminal organizations, which thrive in environments marked by fragmented authority, profit-oriented management, and reduced state oversight.
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