In addition to facing the economic chaos that is plaguing society, the elected president of Argentina, Javier Milei, will also have to face a scenario of persistent crime and violence in the country, which recorded more than 8,000 violent deaths in 2022.
The libertarian economist, who beat Peronist Sergio Massa on Sunday (19), defended during his campaign for Casa Rosada a public security policy based on individual freedom and the right to self-defense.
In recent years, public security has been one of the main concerns of Argentines, who still suffer from significant rates of crime and violence. According to official data released in July this year, in 2022, Argentina recorded 1,890 intentional homicides (when there is an intention to kill), 6,329 robberies (robbery followed by death), 311,697 robberies and 394,525 violent robberies.
In August of this year, the Argentine city of Las Heras, located in the province of Mendoza, was the scene of a riot after looters attacked local police with stones and bottles. After the attacks, the looters decided to invade and rob butchers and businesses in the city.
Still according to official data, in 2022 there were more than 100 thousand attacks carried out against private property and also the growth of drug trafficking, which devastates cities such as Rosário, located in the province of Santa Fé, in the central region of the country, which registered around 287 murders last year, the majority related to the dispute over the illegal drug market, which is frightening the local population and increasing violence in the streets and neighborhoods.
Alberto Fernández’s Peronist government was criticized during its term that ended in December this year for not investing enough in federal security forces, whose responsibilities include border control and the fight against drug trafficking. During Fernández’s administration, Argentine borders continued to be vulnerable and drug trafficking continued to expand.
In his government plan defended during his political campaign, the president-elect presented tough proposals to combat crime in Argentina and improve public security in the country.
Milei has as a pillar of his proposal to increase the security of Argentines the elimination of State control over weapons, a decision that, according to him, will allow citizens to carry and use weapons to protect themselves from crime.
In addition, the libertarian also defends a reduction in the age of criminal responsibility, a reform of internal security laws and the militarization of prison units in Argentina, as well as the end of the payment of any financial aid to those serving a sentence.
Milei also wants to depoliticize the Armed Forces and build more prisons in partnership with private companies. The new Argentine leader also defends a policy for foreigners in the proposals: he wants to prohibit the entry of people with criminal records into the country and enable the immediate deportation of individuals from other countries who commit a crime within Argentine territory.
Milei’s plan also includes the creation of a national database linked to facial identification security cameras spread across Argentine cities to facilitate the arrest of criminals with warrants in force.
Milei, who will assume the role of president on December 10th, will have to deal with the expectations of a portion of the population that is anxiously awaiting profound changes in the current Argentine scenario.
The president-elect’s team has not yet officially announced the name of the person who will be responsible for the country’s security. The choice of minister for this area will possibly be the responsibility of the elected vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, who will manage the areas of Defense and Public Security in Argentina.
Villarruel defends that the Argentine government carries out cooperative work between the different levels of the country’s military forces in the fight against organized crime, especially drug trafficking.
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