Interviews in Liberté territory
Attorney Jimena Falco, who together with psychologist Ricardo Augman forms part of the advisory team for our space and works to bring the document to life, visited the prison and conducted several interviews.
The need to document
The main goal is to tell the story in all its dimensions, making it easier for people to access — to understand how this place came to be, how it works, and how it could be replicated, so that people with ties to the prison world might take notice, and so that incarcerated people in other facilities across the province or the country might also see how the process works: from a self-managed project to a formally registered cooperative, with the possibility of becoming a real source of income for incarcerated people — moving from having to rely on their families for support to being able to contribute to them instead. It also means explaining that this is a space with greater freedom, or fewer restrictions on freedoms, that in reality should never be part of the punishment.
Punitivism and systemic oppression
Falco also shared that, like Augman, she already had experience working in various prison settings — both at the provincial and federal level — and they were both able to witness how punitivism and systemic oppression strip people of their humanity in ways that go far beyond the deprivation of liberty itself.
Interest in the space's history
Jimena said she felt driven to tell the world that this space exists inside Unidad Penal N°15 in Batán — and even to act as a bridge to replicate it elsewhere. It all began back in 2019, after her first visit. Her desire to research and learn more about why Liberté exists led her to listen to the personal stories of those who lived it alongside the institutional side — from "pampa" and "carlitos" (today the president and secretary of Cooperativa Liberté, respectively).
A book project
That irrepressible desire to document the history in a format accessible to anyone kept growing, and Augman's involvement gave it even more momentum — so much so that they eventually became convinced the story should be shared through a book. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, work continued over Zoom, and today interviews are being conducted with the key figures to gather more testimonies and material for the book.
She also noted that the goal is to finish the book as soon as possible, and that the work is progressing in depth — which is why she believes in-person interviews, like the ones completed in recent days, are far more valuable than what the pandemic prevented back in December of last year.
Source: cooperativaLIBERTÉ
Jimena Falco Entrevistas en Territorio Libertéedutube.universidadliberte.org
