Brazil inmates end new uprising

Prisoners are searched after Sunday's protests

Brazil's second prison riot this week has ended after police retook one of the complexes at the Pirajui jail in Sao Paolo state.

Police say one inmate died when he was decapitated by other prisoners during the 15-hour stand-off. But seven warders were released unharmed shortly before a deadline for the nearly 900 inmates to return to their cells.

It was nothing more than a dress rehearsal for a mega-rebellion that can explode at any time

Prison guards' spokesman Nilson de Oliveira

Inmates at another Pirajui complex took part in a massive statewide rebellion on Sunday, when simultaneous riots broke out in 29 of Sao Paolo's prisons.

Inmates were protesting against conditions and moves to break up prison gangs. They have threatened further rebellions if the authorities do not concede to their demands.

Officials said the latest riot was organised by the First Commando of the Capital (PCC) - the criminal gang blamed for the weekend uprising, which left 19 inmates dead.

Orchestrated from Carandiru, Latin America's largest jail, the protest was the biggest of its kind in Brazil.

More 'planned'

The mounting unrest has sparked renewed calls for prison reform.

Police had given prisoners a deadline to surrender

One of the Brazilian prison guards' unions, the State Correction Workers Union, is threatening to go on strike because of poor working conditions.

The union has warned that prisoners are preparing more uprisings on a still bigger scale than Sunday's.

"It was nothing more than a dress rehearsal for a mega-rebellion that can explode at any time," said union leader Nilson de Oliveira.

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has promised to increase federal funding from $4.5m last year to $33m this year.

But despite his promises of more money to build new prisons, many observers doubt whether the extra funding will solve the two main problems of overcrowding and corruption.

There are presently about 200,000 inmates in a system built to hold fewer than half that number.