Brazil Targets Prison Cell Phones 12 Days Before Runoff

BRAZIL · SECURITY

Brazil has created a national programme to cut off prison cell phones through a decree that regulates existing laws. The measure lands 12 days before a presidential runoff in which public security is a central campaign theme.

Brazil’s federal government on Tuesday, 13 October, published a decree creating a national programme to block cell phones used illegally inside prisons. For US readers, it is a test of how Latin America’s largest economy tackles crime coordinated from behind bars.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Decree 13,136 on Friday, 9 October, and the official gazette printed it on Tuesday. It lets prison authorities ask the telecom regulator to switch off individual handsets or to jam signals around jails.

What the Decree Sets Up

The decree creates the National Programme for the Neutralisation of Illicit Communications in Prisons, run jointly with the states. It also sets up a National Register of Prison Security Perimeters, kept by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

The register will hold coordinates and descriptions of each prison and its surroundings, supplied by participating states and the Federal District. It links to Sisdepen, the national prison information system, and Anatel, the telecom regulator, gets access to oversee jammers.

The programme’s first stated goals are to stop unauthorised telecom use inside prisons and to quickly block seized or misused handsets. It also aims to coordinate Anatel with federal and state bodies and to protect phone service for residents nearby.

The decree carries the signatures of Lula, Justice Minister Wellington César Lima e Silva and Communications Minister Frederico de Siqueira Filho. It provides for a steering committee and a cooperation agreement between the two ministries and Anatel.

How Blocking Prison Cell Phones Will Work

The first route is an individual block of a handset through its IMEI, the unique serial number every mobile phone carries. Prison authorities file a technical report, and Anatel acts under its own powers from the 1997 telecommunications law.

The second route is signal blocking inside a registered security perimeter, using jammers operated by a participating state. Those jammers must follow conditions set by Anatel, which must be told before any of them is switched on.

Requests will go through a digital platform that the Ministry of Justice must launch within 180 days of publication. Until then, prison authorities can send serial-number requests straight to Anatel and notify the ministry at the same time.

G1, as republished by the Maranhão news site Imirante, reported that the blocks need no court decision. The decree text itself sets out an administrative route through Anatel and does not mention judicial authorisation.

States and the Federal District join voluntarily by signing a membership term under the programme’s cooperation agreement. Those that join must register their prison perimeters, name the officials allowed to file requests and respect data-protection rules.

Why the Timing Matters Before the Runoff

The decree appears 12 days before Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday, 25 October. Lula, of the left-wing Workers’ Party, faces Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the conservative Liberal Party.

SBT News, a national broadcaster, noted that the measure comes less than two weeks before the runoff. G1, the news site of the Globo group, said it fits Lula’s campaign focus on public security.

G1 also tied the decree to a constitutional amendment backed by Lula that would widen the federal role against organised crime. That amendment is a separate proposal and is not part of the decree published on Tuesday.

What It Means for US Readers

For US investors, security policy is a live issue in a runoff that will set the direction of Brazil’s economy. Telefônica Brasil and TIM Brasil, two of the country’s largest mobile carriers, have shares trading in New York.

The decree names no duties or costs for carriers, and it lists protecting service quality near prisons as a goal. How jammers affect coverage in surrounding neighbourhoods is a practical question the text leaves to Anatel’s conditions.

For US travellers, the measure covers only prisons and their registered perimeters, not phones at airports or hotels. Tourist areas are not covered unless a registered prison perimeter overlaps them, which the decree does not suggest.

What Is Not Known

The decree gives no budget figure, no number of prisons covered and no list of states that have agreed to join. It also sets no date for the first jammers or serial-number blocks under the new programme.

Figures on phones seized in prisons appear in single press reports only and could not be confirmed in an official source. It is also unclear whether lawyers or courts will challenge blocks that are ordered without judicial review.

States already running jammers must report them to Anatel, but the text does not say how existing systems will be inspected. How Anatel will handle coverage complaints from people living near prisons is not yet set out.

What Comes Next

The Ministry of Justice has 180 days from Tuesday’s publication to put the request platform online, which points to April 2027. States must first sign membership terms and register their prison perimeters before signal blocking can start.

Brazilians vote in the runoff on Sunday, 25 October, with crime still high on the agenda. The decree does not mean prisons will be phone-free soon, because each step depends on state sign-ups and technical work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Brazil’s government decide on 13 October?

It published a decree creating a national programme to block cell phones used illegally inside prisons. The decree was signed on 9 October and printed in the official gazette on Tuesday.

How will phones in Brazilian prisons be blocked?

Prison authorities can ask the telecom regulator Anatel to block a handset by its IMEI serial number. Participating states can also run signal jammers inside registered security perimeters around prisons.

Does a judge have to approve each block?

G1 reported that no court decision is needed, and the decree text does not mention judicial authorisation. Requests follow an administrative route, with Anatel acting under its own legal powers.

Does the decree affect tourists or phone users outside prisons?

The decree applies to prisons and their registered security perimeters, not to airports, hotels or tourist areas. It lists protecting phone service quality in nearby areas as one of its goals.

When will the programme be fully running?

The Ministry of Justice has 180 days to launch the digital request platform. States must also join voluntarily and register their prison perimeters before signal blocking starts.

Sources: Presidency of Brazil, Decree 13,136 of 9 October 2026; SBT News; Imirante, with information from G1 (all accessed 13 October 2026).