Gabriel is Boric's enemy

El Líbero, Friday, March 17, 2023

The President’s worst enemy is himself, and the greatest risk is the loss of credibility resulting from the lack of a coherent narrative that has led citizens to take justice into their own hands.

We had a rather newsworthy week regarding the security landscape: A police officer was run over in Concepción; we learned about the interesting criminal record of Brandon Rojas, one of the 13 pardoned in December, and the General Secretariat of the Presidency informed us of 16 urgent security project proposals. This latter issue should give us optimism, as authorities begin to accelerate actions to address one of the priorities of Chileans, but… contradictions continue to accumulate, and credibility is gradually being lost.

Following the death of the police officer in Concepción, the President tweeted a message stating that “we will apply the full rigor of the law.” Up to that point, everything was fine; however, the problem arises from the heavy burden of pardons that the President decided to carry in December: one of the pardoned individuals was imprisoned for running over a member of the PDI.

Among the 16 projects that received urgency are the intelligence project and the one modernizing the crime of organized crime. Boric, in his capacity as a deputy, had voted against the former, and regarding the latter, it should be noted that as President, he pardoned Rojas, who was accused of participating in organized crime operations for the use and collection of funds for violent activities during the social outbreak. 

While actions are being taken that can be interpreted as progress, they are quickly contrasted by others that seem to be setbacks. The President’s worst enemy is himself, and the greatest risk is the loss of credibility resulting from the lack of a coherent narrative that has led citizens to take justice into their own hands.

Today, business owners do not hesitate to use their properly registered firearms, and since last year, we have seen citizen arrests. From fear, Chileans have moved to action, responding in increasingly risky ways to crime. 

The main consequence of the above is the deterioration of democracy due to worsening security conditions and the lack of state action. In this regard, the survey CEP from December 2022 showed a statistically significant increase compared to the previous measurement among those who stated that “in some circumstances, an authoritarian government may be preferable to a democratic one.” This leads us to think that, in the face of certain events, citizens are willing to give up freedoms, something that the survey also confirmed: 68% value “public order and citizen security” more than “public and private freedoms.” 

Security is the cornerstone for achieving development and well-being; it is also a fundamental foundation for democracy. Without it, the setback for the country can be significant, and the lack of clear decisions by the government can be very costly for Chileans.

It is time to come to an agreement and assume responsibility for the political leadership of security.

Pilar Lizana
Researcher at AthenaLab

Source: El Líbero