2024-08-22 22:24:00
The bands have a stable presence in Latin America. They exist again and again as agents of power, illegal economic actors and saboteurs of the development processes of different countries. And yet, despite their influence, they never were consider elements strong enough to shake the system.
If we move forward to the present day, we find a whole new panorama. Criminal gangs have become more prominent than ever before. From island countries such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to major economic powers such as Brazil and Mexico, their threat spreading rapidly.
In some cases, they have come to challenge the very existence of the region’s governments. Criminal gangs of Haiti they overthrew the government in early 2024 and took the country hostage. and i Ecuadorwhich was once praised as one of the safest countries in Latin America, the government fighting a battle for their durability against some gangs that are rapidly using the power of the state.
Gangs are such a serious problem that they are damage the economic results of the region. The research of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that reducing the level of crime in Latin America to the global average would increase the region’s annual economic growth by 0.5 percentage points. That is, about a third of Latin America’s growth between 2017 and 2019.
Criminal groups have long a forgotten subject. But not now. Amid growing concerns about insecurity and low levels of trust in the police, governments in several Latin American and Caribbean countries enacting emergency situations, implementing policies that they would not normally be authorized to do, to protect their citizens.
Called colloquially firm handthis approach to understand suspension the fundamental rights of citizens empower military and law enforcement to detain, imprison and deport anyone found to be associated with criminal gangs. It also denies access to legal measures to secure the detained person’s right to an open trial..
Extensive authorship
Charismatics introduced these measures in Latin America in March 2022, although they were controversial President of El Salvador, Nayib Buckle. After an uptick in gang violence that left 87 deaths in one weekend, Bukele restricted the right to be informed of the reason for his arrest and to have access to a lawyer when he was detained..
By February 2024, more than 76,000 people – almost 2% of the population of El Salvador – under detention under government regulations. There are critics the tax of the foot as a serious violation of human rights. The troops People were arrested for having tattoos or living in poor neighbourhoods, which arose from the lying of the thousands of innocents in the overcrowded Salvadoran prisons.
Instead of taking measures to prevent abusive detention, Bukele publicly supported security forces. There are also few independent judges in the country after Bukele’s party a restoration in 2021 gave the Supreme Court the power to remove judges and force them to retire.
However, there are many people in El Salvador welcome suppressed with open arms.
Thanks to Bukele’s strong hand against gangs and organized crime, El Salvador has gone from being the world’s crime capital to one of the safest countries of Latin America. In February, Bukele was re-elected by a large majority.
Ecuador follows in the footsteps of Buckley
The policy of firm hand gaining followers across the region. At the end of April 2024, Ecuador voted to continue the state of emergency in a national referendum. This action grants President Daniel Noboa’s power to deploy soldiers on the streets to “fight drug-fuelled violence and extradite criminals abroad”.
Citizens of democracies rarely voluntarily demand authoritarian measures in their governance structure. The only recent example occurred in 2018, when massive protests They went on tour in Latin America. The protests brought more South Americans to light autocratic governance as a need maintain law and order.
Likewise, there is widespread current support for health interventions firm hand It is a product of two factors. The population is suffering at the point of exhaustion. And he is convinced that only extreme authoritarian measures can address the challenges of the gangs.
The ability of many Latin American states to – let alone promote – their original values is being undermined. compromise because of gang violence. Against this background, it is not surprising that the fight to reduce the power and influence of criminal groups is gaining support.
It is too early to predict whether other Latin American states threatened by gangs will fully reproduce the Salvadoran and Ecuadorian model. However, countries with very low homicide rates such as Bolivia, Argentina and Chile have already adopted some prevention policies. firm hand.
The “Buckle model” is gaining a following and is likely to become the majority political choice in this region.
#Bukele #model #criminal #gangs