Argentina

Election Times Equals Crime Time

On Sunday 10 July 2011 I wrote in my article Election Times Equals Crime Time: “Mark my words”, public security debate will increase as Election Day in Argentina is getting closer.

(see:  http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2011/07/election-time-equals-crime-time-on.html)

And here we are, Argentine political opposition and its supporters, demoralized by their monumental defeat of last month primaries are not missing a chance to utilize the public security debate even if it means to exploit a tragic crime of an 11 year old girl which was brutally murdered under suspicious circumstances after being kidnapped for more than a week. A crime that has shocked the nation and now is being politically exploited by the opposition to question Argentine public security policies. 

As tragic as this homicide is, it has nothing to do with public security as such, and in no other parts of the world would it be politically exploited by political opposition to such extent as is the case in Argentina.

Since the crime became high profile case with large media interest it did not take long for De Social Development Union’s (UDESO) candidate for Buenos Aires province governor, Francisco De Narváez and other opposition politicians and supporters to jump onto the “bandwagon”, and quickly exploit this crime by pointing fingers and stirring the public security debate for purely political reasons and not having real solutions at hand on how to solve the so called “public insecurity”. What they forget is that Argentina is still the 2^nd safest country among 16 Latin American countries and statistically on the same level as the USA regarding public security. 

See:(http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/77686/public-security-policies-are-a-complete-failure-de-narv%C3%A1ez-)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate#cite_note-67

Curbing in poverty and providing social security not only to the middle class but also to the lower class is the key to success in fighting crime, something it seems  none of the opposition are willing to admit but which has worked in Europe's favor for last 60 years. 

Only 2 years ago in the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires, usually referred to as the rich neighborhood, Gated Communities with large mansions and numerous “Villas” (Slums) bordered next to each other, displaying the strong contrast between rich and poor and thus steering envy and hate which subsequently leads to crime .  Driving through the same neighborhoods nowadays, most “Villas” have disappeared and Slum inhabitants received social welfare and housing plans which enabled them to live in decency as well as giving them the opportunity to work, thus refraining in most cases from criminal activities. Something most of the political opposition in Argentina simply turn a blind eye on.

In regards to the current high profile homicide case, everything in relation to the 11 year old girl’s murder appears to be premeditated. Furthermore the family surrounding of the victim seems to be not that of a crime free environment (The father of the murdered girl is currently serving a prison sentence and the current partner of the mother has also served jail time), 

thus claiming the government to be responsible seems somewhat farfetched and exploiting such tragic event politically, only displays political immaturity.   

 The only proven way of curbing in crime is to provide economic growth and social security for everyone, something Argentina is currently successful in implementing.