RESOCIALIZATION, REHABILITATION, REINSERTION, AND SOCIAL REINTEGRATION: CONCEPTUAL TENSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE BRAZILIAN PENAL EXECUTION SYSTEM

Abstract

This article critically analyzes the conceptual tensions between resocialization, rehabilitation, social reinsertion, and social reintegration within the Brazilian penal execution system, considering the implications of these categories for defining the responsibilities of the convicted individual, the State, and society. It addresses the issue of these terms frequently being used as synonyms, despite the distinct conceptions they may convey regarding the purpose of penal execution and the return to life in freedom. The research adopts a qualitative approach, employing a critical literature review and document analysis—examining scholarship in critical criminology, penal execution legislation, and Brazilian institutional documents concerning support for individuals leaving the prison system, as well as the "Just Sentence" Plan (*Plano Pena Justa*). It is argued that resocialization tends to prioritize individual adaptation; rehabilitation, the development of personal capacities; social reinsertion, the return to social relations; and social reintegration, the reconstruction of bonds, the guarantee of rights, and the co-responsibility between the State and society. The study concludes that social reintegration is the most appropriate category for a critical and relational perspective on penal execution, provided it is not reduced to merely a new label for practices of social control. While conceptual precision alone is insufficient to overcome the penitentiary crisis, it contributes to establishing criteria for analyzing policies related to education, labor, social assistance, and support for individuals transitioning out of the prison system.