Debilidad institucional y cooptación del sistema penitenciario ecuatoriano por el crimen organizado: análisis jurídico y criminológico de las causas y efectos

Abstract

Abstract: This research was framed within the profound structural crisis of the Ecuadorian prison system, highlighting institutional weakness and the effective loss of the State's monopoly on legitimate coercion. The exhaustive legal and criminological analysis confirmed that this crisis is the empirical manifestation of the collapse of legal-rational domination (Weber) and of a structural normative ineffectiveness that is exploited by organized crime. The study demonstrated that the material conditions of detention, such as severe overcrowding and lack of access to basic services, constitute cruel and inhuman treatment, thus nullifying the constitutional purpose of punishment. The crucial contribution of this work lies in providing theoretical and practical input for justice system professionals and criminal policymakers, seeking to strengthen legal certainty and transparency in the face of the systemic failure of rehabilitation, confirmed by the high recidivism rate of 8 out of 10 released prisoners.