Crime and the New Generations

El Líbero, September 8, 2023

We need education to work on strengthening the values and identity that foster national cohesion and build community.

13, 16, and 17, the ages of the adolescents who have died in recent weeks in the northern sector of Santiago. Young people who should be studying and thinking about all they could achieve in the future end up leading short lives marked by crime.

The new generations will be responsible for continuing the country’s development. With leadership styles different from their predecessors, they are called to make a difference and contribute to strengthening democracy. Our schools should be the breeding ground for all of this so that we can achieve what Latin calls civitas, the city, which, thanks to responsible and committed civis (citizens), can grow and consolidate as a space of opportunities.

Today, it seems that both the civis and the civitas are at risk. The 13-year-old girl who was shot dead in Recoleta under the hypothesis of drug-related settling of scores is just one example of the problem. On street corners, we find minors under 15 selling drugs for some adult who controls the area; urban music that idealizes the world of weapons, money, and drug trafficking dazzles many who see there an opportunity to rise, and, combined with an (in)effective state, leads future leaders, disenchanted with reality, to choose the path of crime.

We cannot afford to lose generations to crime. A top-level education where the ideology of some sectors is left out of the discussion to advance in new ways of learning and the reintegration of civic education from the very beginning are important aspects to recover that civitas where everyone finds opportunities.

The bills currently under discussion seek to improve institutions, criminal figures, and offenses, which is very necessary to confront the criminality that is undermining our future leaders. However, we also need education to work on strengthening the values and identity that foster national cohesion and build community, one committed to its country and its development, one that does not hide in fear in its homes, that occupies public space and allows for the recovery of the civitas and strengthens the civis.

The government has implemented various measures to confront crime; often, the urgency and actions have been driven by citizens and insecurity. Chileans, in a “bottom-up” process, are pressuring the state and its political leaders to combat crime, forcing them to set aside prejudices and use the legitimate force that rests upon them.

In a scenario where common crime, organized crime, and insecurity intensify simultaneously, the state is compelled to respond immediately. However, it is not possible to think about security solely from the perspective of public order, prosecution, and punishment; a future vision is needed that outlines where we want to go and how. The responsibility lies with the current government and the success of continuity, the youth of today.

Pilar Lizana
Researcher, AthenaLab

Source: El Líbero