At the men’s prison in Saltillo, Coahuila, families queue on visiting days carrying clothes, medicines and cleaning supplies. Vanguardia’s on-site reporting states that visits run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Because security filters are slow, relatives try to enter first; time spent in line directly reduces the hours available with the person they came to see.
The report also describes shortages of uniforms and medicine that families are expected to remedy. Vendors outside the prison sell clothing in the colours required by the institution. Those waiting are therefore more than visitors: they are supplying goods the prison has failed to provide. The entrance line orders family contact while marking the point at which responsibility for clothing, health and hygiene is shifted onto relatives.