Chile: The Jaguar of Latin America?

El Líbero, July 19, 2024

Given the criminal context in Latin America and the rapid advance of organized crime groups, the Andes Mountains are neither so high nor the desert so vast as to serve as a natural barrier.

Security, that environment free from risks and threats that allows us to grow and fully exercise our freedoms. An abstract concept that five years ago was discussed almost exclusively in specialized circles and is now a mandatory topic in any conversation. The government spokesperson explained that Chile cannot be compared to other Latin American countries, but a quickly circulating meme on social media featuring the Ukrainian President equipped for war stating he was going to a “baptism in Lampa” undermined that argument.

At the end of the last century, Chile was referred to as the “jaguar of Latin America,” with economic indicators showing robust development and undeniable reductions in poverty and unemployment. Security was something taken for granted. The urgency was economic. But, in 24 years of this new century, everything changed. Wewent from a goal of creating one million jobs to having to reduce the homicide rate.

Could we have foreseen what was coming? Perhaps. With the criminal context in Latin America and the rapid advance of organized crime groups, combined with a region characterized by weak democratic regimes and high levels of corruption, the Andes Mountains are neither so high nor the desert so vast as to serve as a natural barrier. We must also not forget the role Chile played in the drug trade during the 1960s and 70s, where major chemists gained worldwide fame for their ability to process narcotics.

Despite the context, Chile seemed to be distanced from that reality. But, the institutional deterioration alongside political movements seeking to reform Carabineros and the lack of updates and modernization of institutions is taking its toll.

The events of the weekend serve as another reminder of how deep the security crisis has become. The disputes between criminal gangs, the territorial control advancing through the metropolitan region, and minors involved in gunfire are evidence that we have ignored all the red flags.

The first year of government was dedicated to diagnostics. Everything was delayed because a political narrative on security had to be adjusted, which did not allow for progress on measures. That year was already predicted to be complex, with an expected rise in homicides. Deaths that were repeated during the New Year of 2023, in March and April of that year, and in April of this year, and after two fast-track security measures, we are still hearing reactive measures.

Addressing risks and threats requires having information that allows us to model them, and in terms of organized crime, modeling the behavior of groups can provide relevant data to improve management and shift from reactive to proactive measures.

A new prison has been proposed, a task force for the Metropolitan Region, and more resources, but nothing has been discussed regarding intelligence, technology, and artificial intelligence. All are essential for designing predictive models.

We need to analyze with a forward-thinking approach; only then will we address the challenges of the present.

Pilar Lizana
Researcher, AthenaLab

Source: El Líbero