Latin America's Search for Security: Between Repression and Dialogue

Abstract

The assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has brought violence in Latin America back to the fore. It also revealed the close relationship between criminal and political violence. While "iron fist" policies may be attractive to voters, they alone will not achieve sustainable security. Latin America leads global statistics on homicide and crime, as well as those regarding the world's most violent cities and highest levels of violence against social activists and human rights defenders. The recent steep increase in violence in Ecuador shows that the phenomenon is not static but changes over time and place. Violence is driven by the interaction of structural weaknesses - such as social inequality, weak state capacity, and low trust in institutions - with global shifts in organised crime. Latin American security politics lack a focus on prevention and continuity. Instead, they meander between repression through "iron fist" approaches and attempts to disarm and demobilise criminal organisations via dialogue processes. Punitive populism in the style of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele promises quick solutions, which can make it hugely popular even though it erodes democratic-governance norms and sacrifices human rights. Alternative approaches aiming to bring non-state armed actors under the rule of law via talks and ceasefires are often highly contested and need time for results to manifest.