The penitentiary system and its reforms have struggled with their formulation and implementation in order to fulfill its constitutional mandate of re-education, rehabilitation and reincorporation of former convicts into society. We present an analysis of the challenges that the State’s administrative capacity faces towards the Peruvian Penitentiary System in its complex adaptive system and the penitentiary supervision during the pandemic under charge of the Ombudsman. We conclude that an integral reform includes the Ombudsman as a National Torture Prevention Mechanism (NPM), and as a congregator for other State and Civil Society Actors for the implementation of long-term sustainable actions.

El Sistema Penitenciario y sus reformas han experimentado dificultades en su formulación e implementación para cumplir con el mandato constitucional de reeducar, rehabilitar y reincorporar a los penados a la sociedad. Para ello, analizamos los desafíos de la capacidad administrativa del Estado respecto al Sistema Penitenciario Peruano en su condición de sistema adaptativo complejo y la supervisión penitenciaria a cargo de la Defensoría del Pueblo durante la pandemia. Concluimos que una reforma integral debe incluir a la Defensoría del Pueblo como Mecanismo Nacional de Prevención de la Tortura (MNP) y que ésta a su vez congregue a otros actores del Estado y la sociedad civil para la ejecución de acciones sostenibles a largo plazo.

The penitentiary system and its reforms have struggled with their formulation and implementation in order to fulfill its constitutional mandate of re-education, rehabilitation and reincorporation of former convicts into society. We present an analysis of the challenges that the State’s administrative capacity faces towards the Peruvian Penitentiary System in its complex adaptive system and the penitentiary supervision during the pandemic under charge of the Ombudsman. We conclude that an integral reform includes the Ombudsman as a National Torture Prevention Mechanism (NPM), and as a congregator for other State and Civil Society Actors for the implementation of long-term sustainable actions.