Barbarie 1 Barbarism 1 Civilización 1 Civilization 1 Community Policies 1 Economía social y solidaria 1 Ejercicio del poder 1 Ethic of Self-government 1 Gobierno 1 Government Rationalities 1 Masculinidades 1 Mesa de barrios populares 1 Neighborhoods 1 Plebeian power 1 Poder Popular 1 Políticas comunitarias 1 Políticas penitenciarias 1 Popular Power 1 Potencia Plebeya 1 Power Relations 1 Racionalidades de gobierno 1 Relaciones de poder 1 Roundtable of popular 1 Social Work 1 Social and Solidary Economy 1 This article employs contributions from gender studies and psychoanalysis to analyse the effects of the penitentiary institution as a producer and reproducer of patriarchal mandates, based on the theoretical and experiential account of some aspects of daily life in prison. For this, it is essential to contemplate how the masculinities of those who inhabit these spaces (i.e. prisoners and penitentiary agents) are built, which roles other men and women play, understanding that both violence and the exercise of power constitute unavoidable elements for an institutional analysis. Finally the question arises: if the patriarchal structures are not questioned, is the prison an effective place to confront and deal with sexist violence? 1 Trabajo Social 1 Violencia de género 1 Ética de gobierno de sí 1