“We play in line” as a form of resistance against a crumbling system

Perspectives on childhood and adolescence accompanying incarceration processes

Abstract

In a context where the Uruguayan penitentiary system shows clear signs of collapse —with overcrowding, inhuman detention conditions, and an institutional framework unable to guarantee basic rights— Jugamos en la fila (“Let’s Play in the Queue”) emerges as a collective experience built from the margins. This initiative, promoted by the Civil Association Familias Presentes, takes place in a peculiar territory: the waiting queues to enter prison visits, where women, children, and adolescents carry both the visible and invisible weight of incarceration. In this setting, where state neglect translates into endless hours of waiting and a daily life marked by institutional violence, a playful and protected space is created that recognizes play as a fundamental right and an act of resistance.

More than mere entertainment, Jugamos en la fila enables narratives of care and dignity, restoring the right to be recognized and heard. What place do our children and adolescents occupy in the face of a collapsing penitentiary system? This article seeks to answer that question by making visible the experience of a historically neglected group and proposing, from the playful and the communal, the construction of a culture of peace that challenges the logics of imprisonment and opens pathways toward social justice.