The politics of Latin Americans

Many conceptions of social interest are present in Latin American politics. Cities in Latin American countries, for example, have been rife with violence. Majorities in most of the nations analyzed stated that they would prefer that their governments work on eliminating urban violence within cities. The majority of violence in Latin American cities is triggered by issues relating to politics and those in positions of power/authority (Soifer, 2015). Therefore, there is a growing acknowledgment of the existence of the urban violence as a serious constraint to the development and being a concept that is related to the politics of authority within the governmental officials and the criminal gang leaders. Additionally, there is also contestation in regards to its categorization, underlying causes, solutions, and consequences. Therefore, this paper will give a better understanding of the complexity of the nature of endless violence within the poor urban communities in regards to the current analytical debates and intended operational solutions. The integrated framework that is in this paper also acknowledges the complexity of the nature of the urban violence within the poor communities of Latin America. This study recognizes the identity and urgency of some of the social actors who experience the effects of the violence on a daily basis and emphasize on the interrelationship that exists between politics and the causes of this violence.

Thesis Statement

The primary aim of this study is to allow a better understanding of urban violence within the cities of Latin America and perceive it as a development problem. There is need to understand the causes, consequences and proposed solutions/interventions to solve the issue of violence. Violence in the urban areas are believed to be influenced by politicians, drug dealers and other gang leaders who are after some sort of political powers to protect their own interests. These violence have caused a lot of discomfort among the affected members of the public and some of them have ended up moving into other countries as immigrants. The existence of violence has also been impediment to economic development in the affected areas as more time is spent planning on how to curb the violence. The urban violence is a real threat to the countries’ economy and political democracy hence needs to addressed and completely put to an end. There have been various debates from a number of scholars on possible causes, consequences and maybe, proposed solutions to the issue of urban violence. Therefore, this paper seeks to make a viable contribution to this debate by analyzing a cross-sectoral violence reduction scheme that will be exclusive in nature. Therefore, the paper to answer the questions: Why is urban violence such a prominent feature in Latin American cities? What do you think about the causal factors of this modern phenomenon?

The Politics of Urban Violence within Latin American Cities

Among the world’s 50 cities noted to be a risk and dangerous owing to criminal activities, 43 of them are found in the Latin America and Parts of Caribbean (Wheeler et al., 2014). The list of such countries was recently updated by the Business Insider drawing data from the Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice of the Mexican citizen. Indeed, violence in these cities is generated by spontaneous or organized outbursts of hostilities that are typified by destructions of property, wanton killings and robbery with violence. Therefore, this research is an attempt to find out why urban violence is a defining characteristic of Latin American cities and what factors are associated with this phenomenon. The high level of violence in the 43 Latin American cities places them on a par with the most violent ones in the world.

Urban violence within the context of Latin American cities refers to the mayhem of violence and occasional riots, which has become a focal feature of urban life in Latin American towns According to the research done by the Insight Crime, which conducts analysis and investigation of organized crime, forty-three of the fifty most dangerous cities in the world are in Latin America (Insight Crime, year). Studies by the same Insight Crime helps to look closely at various factors that are considered to be the driving force of violence prevalent in these cities Insight Crime has aimed at ranking the cities around the world basing on the height of violent crimes. It has therefore established that twenty of the most violent cities regarding crime in the world are located in Latin America. The Latin American's towns with the highest level of violence (namely San Pedro in Honduras Acapulco in Mexico and Caracas in Venezuela).

One of the factors that have led to the prominence of violence in these cities can be attributed to the profitability of the domestic market for drugs as established by Wheeler et al. (2014). For this reason, then, various cities in Latin America have continually experienced a boom in the domestic drug market. According to Wheeler et al. (2014), the rapid development of the local drug market encourages the rise of criminal groups set to gain control over the drug trade in their countries and Latin America at large. The drug trade is an illegal business which comes with foul consequences when faced with law and justice. The rising demand for such drugs as cocaine and heroin encourage people to violate the law and forcefully transact the business. To perpetuate this criminal gangs have emerged to combat the police and other regulatory bodies. Many other regions in Latin America, such as Colombia, Peru, and Argentina, are also noted to have a significantly increased level of demand for cocaine and other drugs, which means they also form the part of the world drug countries that experiences significant growth (Gootenberg & Campos, 2015). According to Davis, (2015), as the demand for drugs in these markets grow, criminal gangs readily fill in need of supplying the market with drugs.

The emergence of a different gang in most of the cities particularly in the Colombian borders initiates turf wars over the control of distribution, transport and sale territories as every gang wants to have a significant market share and gain market control. As stated by Davis (2015), gangs, therefore, form rivalries amongst themselves that end up in bloody wars that escalate the level of violence and murder in Latin American cities. Davis (2015), argued that the rising demand for drugs in the cities contribute to the high level of violence in the cities. Data from Insight Crime establishes this as one of the critical factors that drive the rate of homicides up in Latin American cities. Another important aspect that makes urban violence an inalienable part of life in Latin American cities is the process of disintegration of organized crime. According to Kurtz (2013), criminal bands have disintegrated into various factions that are scattered all around the cities. They exist almost in every part of the city carrying out criminal activities. It is also important to note that these smaller groups of organized crimes lack the workforce to undertake large-scale cross-border operations. According to Kurtz (2013), this might mean that they are left with the option of focusing on the domestic and local markets that are typically more congested and exposed to urban violence. Another factor that contributes to the level of violence in Latin American cities is the fact that organized crime uses them as illegal important transit destinations for international drug market (Kurtz, 2013). Studies by Insight Crime show that many Latin American cities acting as transit places within the framework of the international drug market lead to a higher propensity for violent crime. According to Sanchez. The countries that function as drug transit regions tend to experience a greater level of violent crime and criminal activities as compared to the ones where drug traffic control is more successful. As elaborated by (Kurtz, 2013) international crime cartels usually hire the services of local crime groups to safeguard the shipments and see the transport of drugs across borders. Thus, such state of things solidifies the position of domestic gangs in Latin America, where at times even some payment operations are done on drugs. These drugs then get resold domestically, which further expands the local market of drugs.

Apart from drug gangs, other factors play a significant role in the prominence of urban crime in Latin American cities. According to Chant and Datu (2015), one of these factors is corruption within the government and criminalization of local authorities in Latin American cities. In this respect, organized criminal groups form ties with public officials who ignore the activities of organized crime in their cities. Therefore, at times the officials, who are supposed to play a critical role in preventing violence and other vices, assume and encourage violence generated by the activity of organized crime. In this way, corruptness in governments helps to create a culture that tolerates impunity and advance urban violence. As explicitly explained by Sanchez, (2016), Corrupt law enforcement agents can protect criminal groups and, thus, advance violence by keeping gangs informed of law enforcement activities and scheduled crime-control operations, which facilitates criminal activity.

Looking at the factors that increase the level of violence in Latin American cities, it becomes evident that violence and crime tend to thrive under certain conditions only. The drug and turf wars that boost the level of violence in these cities can be attributed to the socio-economic conditions that prevail in the area. In this respect, Chant and Datu (2015) argues that violence tends to emanate in places that have unfavorable social conditions. In Latin America, urban violence tends to be a widespread phenomenon in the places that experience low levels of formal employment (Chant & Datu, 2015). The situation is also exacerbated by the established history of inequality or lack of endless opportunities in a great number of urban areas of Latin America, along with other factors such as poverty and lack of education. While evaluating the factors that characterize the phenomenon of urban violence in Latin American cities, it has to be said that all these aspects work in an interconnected way to advance the problem.

High levels of poverty and inequality among the residents are more likely to gravitate towards organized crime since the social structure does not provide the chance for development (Kurtz, 2013). The lack of medical facilities, low level of education and overcrowding sets the foundation for a situation, which makes violence a norm and leaves people no other choice but to do just about anything to survive according to the ideology of Social Darwinism. This notion is also supported by the fact that most of the people who are involved in violent crimes in Latin American cities are below the age of forty. The point is that the lack of employment among the youth makes them vulnerable to joining criminal gangs, which are engaged in violent crimes. In most cities in Latin America, the governance structure does not pay attention to the roots of the social problems, which make a high rate of crime one of the central challenges in this region (Chant & Datu, 2015). This is basically due to public officials who are often corrupt and collaborative with criminals.

Children who have been raised in a single-parent family have a likelihood that they’ll have negative street behavior which is associated with crime and violence. For this reason, then, Juvenile crimes that are prevalent in nearly every State city of Latin America are linked to a good number of children whose childhood development and growth were in single families as elaborated by (Chant & Datu, 2015). Most of the criminal activities in the Latin American cities, Lima in Peru and Mexico City In Mexico to mention a few are organized by young people between twenty and forty years. For over the last three decades it has been noted in most of these cities that violent crimes are proportional to the number of families which have been abandoned by fathers. This is an indication that there is a rapid increase in the number of families in the three mentioned cities that live minus their fathers. Heritage scholars indicate that nearly 10% rise in the number of children growing up in single-parent homes home living in the city contributes to 17% of the crimes. There is also a direct proportionality of the violent teenage crimes to the number of families lacking or have been abandoned by the fathers. The professional literature on Juvenile crimes which are rampant in Lima City in Peru shows that prevailing poverty among the families living in this city is basically as a result of the missing fathers. The issue of poverty is true for crime as well. The same literature confirms that children brought up in affectionate, supportive and fully accepting homes rarely get deviant as they grow. Cities with small numbers of single-parent families have rare cases of Juvenile crimes (Chant & Datu, 2015).

Besides poverty, there are other myriads of social issues facing single parents. Such problems revolve about the behaviors of children which in the long run lead to less fear to engage criminal activities. The attention that a father gives to male children is of paramount importance regarding their positive emotional and social development. According to Davis (2015), father’s dominant role in instilling discipline plays a major in producing fearful and responsible adults from children, as opposed to this, boy-children who grow without fathers and are denied that sense of social security. Such a close affection from the father, according to the studies by a Professor of Psychiatry, Rolf Loeber, School of Medicine of the University of Pittsburgh, prevents perpetual aggression and hostility. The inappropriate attack that makes itself manifest in early childhood serves as a precursor of violence and hostility in adulthood. In general, most of the street inhabitants of Sao Paulo and the neighborhood cities are adults and children who grew from single-parent families and are thus hostile and perpetuators of the crimes ranging from robbery to killing with violence. Their culture is that of fearlessness, normlessness and lack of empathy.

Besides the issue of father-abandoned families, poverty and high rate of unemployment in Sao Paulo city in Brazil as one of the Latin American cities form part of the primary causes of violent crimes. Dudley (2014), points out Sao Paulo Brazil is known to be populated by street families whose daily income is below the poverty line and do not own noble jobs. Most of such families have their children especially the male teenagers resolving to use violent means to be able to survive. To accomplish such acts, the street youth under the guidance of senior expert criminals organize themselves into gangs that acquire sophisticated arms to be used especially when robbing banks and breaking into institutions or personal property. Their crimes are motivated by the availability of weapons which are acquired along with drugs. There are several cases as highlighted by the Insight Crime where the police have collected bodies of death people in the streets of Sao Paulo. Such people are said to have killed after being robbed. Police handle frequent cases of people being pick pocketed for money and expensive electronic machines such as phones and laptops along the streets. Cyberbullying as well is the most common form of crime more especially in Salvador in Brazil. The criminals, in this case, hack websites and bank accounts with the aim of fetching money based on findings by Fischer, et al., (2014). The general factor propelling these people into engaging such criminal activities, others with violence is the need for money for survival due to high rates of unemployment and poverty.

Long time conflict and legacy left by the civil wars is one of the core factors contributing to the state of violent crimes in the Latin American cities. The presence of ruthless American gangs as highlighted by Glebbeek & Koonings, (2015), is attributed to the civil wars in Nacaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Menjívar & Davis, (2017) ascertains the truth that one noted and the most feared street gang which rose as result of these civil wars is the MS13. It came into being in 1980 with its base in Los Angeles. The group is comprised mainly of the Central American refugees who ran away from the conflict. The three stated regions in civil wars is now a hideout for the gang. This criminal gang is organizing timely crimes and executes them in most parts of the City of Los Angeles as confirmed by Sanchez, (2016). In Colombia as well armed conflicts have led to a substantial amount of violence for the last fifty years now. Such violence is executed through guerilla means. There have come up paramilitary groups whose existence is purportedly for defense against the guerilla warfare. Rivera, (2016) talked about the same groups having turned out to be BACRIM, a Spanish name referring to criminal bands. These bands currently engage turf wars revolving about drug trafficking activities in the highways of Medellin, Cucuta, and Cali cities.

One other factor elevating the levels of violent crimes in the Latin American cities is the ineffectiveness of the police officers as well as the institutions of criminal Justice. The Caracas city in Venezuela is one example of the main towns where such cases prevail. The statement by Schoultz, (2014) indicate that the reluctance on the part of the police in maintaining law and order has created a conducive environment for criminals to carry out their activities without fear. One other elemental truth confirmed by Wheeler, (2014) is that the police at times may enter an agreement with an organized criminal band which may be contemplating on robbing a bank and give them a share of the deal. In Guatemala City, there are similar cases, but therein, the criminal justice institutions have been propelled by money to release criminals or make irrational judgments in court illegally.

Conclusion

Urban violence is a prominent feature of many cities in Latin America due to various interconnected factors. Drug coupled with the soaring corruption and criminalization of the government in Latin America is amongst the central challenges that jeopardize the security of city dwellers. However, it is also important to stress that a significant number of Latin American cities are international transit regions for drug trafficking. This factor, combined with the lack of opportunities that drive citizens into organized crime, leads to the increase of the level of violence in Latin American cities. The restructuring of the system of governance, effective measures aimed at fighting the soaring corruption and increasing of employment opportunities for the residents of Latin American cities would help to minimize the level of urban violence. Dealing with urban violence in Latin American cities will be effective if an integrated approach is employed, which may help to tackle the problems on many fronts instead of concentrating on one factor that drives violence in cities. In this way, the problem of urban violence will be attacked at the grass-roots and handled in a constructive and productive manner. It is a serious issue demanding a lot of time before it can be brought under control, but then, the Government intervention along with individual citizen responsibility will finally bring the menace to a close.











References

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