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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

April 12, 2022

Will Bukele’s Gang Crackdown Work in the Long Run?

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele last week posted photos on Twitter of prisoners being deployed to paint over gang graffiti, comparing organized gang activity in his country to international terrorist groups. // Photo: @nayibbukele via Twitter.

Q

  • El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly on March 27 approved President Nayib Bukele’s request for a 30-day state of emergency due to a surge in gang-related homicides and violent crime. The declaration suspends some constitutional rights, including the right to a state-sponsored attorney for those arrested and freedom of association. In the days following the move, murders have significantly decreased, according to the National Civil Police. What led to the recent surge of gang-related violence in El Salvador? How effective has the state of emergency been thus far, and how sustainable is the current crime decrease in the long run? How are Salvadoran security forces treating detainees, and how will this response to crime affect Bukele’s political support?  

A

Celia Medrano, San Salvador-based journalist specialized in human rights: “In the last three years, El Salvador has experienced at least three episodes of significant increases in homicides. This last time involved 62 deaths in a single day. The behavior of these violent episodes lasts from three to four consecutive days, and the country later returns to the average of three homicides per day, which has been sustained since 2020. To address each episode, the state response has always been the same: to send more soldiers into the streets. However, this has not guaranteed that the coming months would not see a new rise in homicides. The militarization of public security only shows that there is a lack of a criminal policy that provides sustainable results. Aggressive ‘mano dura’ speeches and an increase in arrests have made headlines in Salvadoran newspapers since 2003. The state of emergency will hardly…”

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The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.
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