Crime and violence affect the lives of millions of people in Latin America. Some consider social inequality to be a major contributing factor to levels of violence in Latin America,World Bank research convincingly demonstrates a strong link between crime and income inequality, which has worsened in Latin America in the past decade and is unlikely to improve dramatically in the years ahead. - Prillaman (2003:1) where the state fails to prevent crime and organized crime takes over State control in areas where the State is unable to assist the society such as in impoverished communities. In the years following the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, crime and violence have become major problems in Latin America. The region experienced more than 200,000 murders between 2000 and 2017. Several studies indicated the existence of an epidemic in the region; the Pan American Health Organization called violence in Latin America "the social pandemic of the 20th century."Cesar Chelala, Violence in the Americas: The Social Pandemic of the 20th Century (Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization, 1997). Apart from the direct human cost, the rise in crime and violence has imposed significant social costs and has made much more difficult the processes of economic and social development, democratic consolidation and regional integration in the Americas.
Consequences for the region High rates of crime and violence in Latin America are undermining growth, threatening human welfare, and impeding social development, according to World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Latin America and Caribbean - Crime, Violence, and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the Caribbean According to the Financial Times, "The region registers close to 40 percent of the world’s murders despite being home to only 9 percent of the global population. According to LAPOP, one in four Latin Americans was assaulted and robbed" in 2018. Latin America is caught in a vicious cycle, where economic growth is thwarted by high crime rates, leading many to believe that because of the insufficient economic opportunity in the region, Latin America cannot navigate their way out of the problem. However, there are many contributing factors to the problem of crime and violence in Latin America, such as the Drug Trade, Cartels and corruption in the political and judicial systems. Crime and violence thrives as the rule of law is weak, economic opportunity is scarce, and education is poor. Therefore, effectively addressing crime requires a holistic, multi-sectoral approach that addresses its root social, political, and economic causes.
Recent statistics indicate that crime is becoming the biggest problem in Latin America. Amnesty International has declared Latin America as the most dangerous region in the world for journalists to work.
There was a very distinct crime wave happening in Latin America. The city that currently topped the list of the world's most violent cities is San Pedro Sula in Honduras, leading various media sources to label it the "murder capital of the world."Rafael Romo and Nick Thompson, Inside San Pedro Sula, the 'murder capital' of the world, CNN, March 28, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.Carol Kuruvilla, San Pedro Sula in northwest Honduras is the murder capital of the world: report, New York Daily News, March 30, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.Jorge Cabrera, Life and death in the murder capital, Reuters, April 5, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.Honduran City is World Murder Capital; Juarez Drops for Second Year in a Row, Fox News Latino, February 8, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013. Colombia registered a homicide rate of 24.4 per 100,000 in 2016, the lowest since 1974. The 40-year low in murders came the same year that the Colombian government signed a peace agreement with the FARC.
Crime is slowing economic growth and undermining democratic consolidation in Latin America. Today, Latin America is known for being of being one of the most violent regions in the world, with combined crime rates of more than triple the world average and comparable to rates in nations experiencing war.
The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that Latin America's per capita Gross Domestic Product would be twenty-five percent higher if the region's crime rates were equal to the world average. Similarly, the World Bank has identified a strong correlation between crime and income inequality.http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DEC/Resources/Crime&Inequality.pdf FAJNZYLBER et al, "Inequality and law", Journal of Law and Economics, vol. XLV (April 2002) Business associations in the region rank crime as the number one issue negatively affecting trade and investment. Crime-related violence also represents the most important threat to public health, striking more victims than HIV/AIDS or other infectious diseases.Crime Hinders Development, Democracy in Latin America, U.S. Says - US Department of State
Public faith in democracy itself is under threat as governments are perceived as unable to deliver basic services such as public security. A United Nations report revealed that only 43 percent of Latin Americans are fully supportive of democracy. Crime has rapidly risen to the top of the list of citizen concerns in Latin America. As the Economist magazine described it, "in several Latin American countries, 2004 will be remembered as the year in which the people rose up in revolt against crime."
Massive street marches such as those that took place in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil, and other expressions of protest against violence, have made it increasingly difficult for politicians to avoid dealing with the issue and, in many countries, have made tackling crime a central theme in political party platforms across the region. Several leaders in the region, including El Salvador's Tony Saca, Ricardo Maduro in Honduras, Guatemala's Óscar Berger, and Álvaro Uribe in Colombia, have all campaigned on a strong anti-crime message. The Presidents of Honduras and El Salvador have called gangs (maras) as big a threat to national security in their countries as terrorism is to the United States.
"World Bank researchers have demonstrated the existence of a 'criminal inertia,' in which high rates of criminality endure long after the latent socioeconomic causes have disappeared or been addressed through policy interventions."WC Prillaman (2003), "Crime, democracy, and development in Latin America," Policy Papers on the Americassee Daniel Lederman, Norman Loayza, and Ana María Menendez, “Violent Crime: Does Social Capital Matter?” Economic Development and Cultural Change 3 (April 2002): 509–539; Richard Rosenfeld, Steven F. Messner, and Eric P. Baumer, Social Capital and Homicide (Saint Louis:University of Missouri Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1999).
Another reason critics believe fuels crime in Latin America is due to the poor public primary education system they say it "has given rise to youths without jobs or expectations of employment-thereby fueling the mounting problem of gang violence in Central America, Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad, Colombia and Brazil."__."Crime Hinders Development, Democracy in Latin America, U.S. Says". U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. April 2005. < > (accessed May 19, 2008).
Contributing factors
A series of factors have contributed to the increase in violent crime in Latin America since the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy. Some intrinsic factors and characteristics of each country aggravated the problem in some countries. However, some factors might have increased the risk of crime and violence in many or most countries in the region in the period between the 1980s and 1990s:
High levels of social inequality Civil wars and armed conflicts Low rates of economic growth High unemployment rates Rapid growth of large cities and metropolitan areas Absence/weakness of basic urban infrastructure, basic social services and community organizations in the poorest neighborhoods, in the periphery of large cities and metropolitan areas Growing availability of arms and drugs Growing presence and strengthening of organized crime Culture of violence, reinforced by organized crime as well as the media, the police and the private security services Low level of effectiveness of the police and other institutions in the criminal justice system Poor public education system Corruption and bribery reaching high levels in law enforcement, political, religious and business institutions.
Crime rates in Latin American countries
Argentina
Argentina has one of the lowest crime rates in Latin America, with a rate of 4.4 homicides per 100,00 people.
Brazil
Brazil is one of the countries that has the largest inequality in terms of the gap between the very wealthy and the extremely destitute. A huge portion of the population lives in poverty. According to the World Bank, "one-fifth of Brazil's 173 million people account for only a 2.2 percent share of the national income. Brazil is second only to South Africa in a world ranking of income inequality.Brazil – Country Brief
There were a total of 63,880 murders in Brazil in 2018. The incidence of violent crime, including muggings, armed robbery, murder and sexual assault is high, particularly in Rio de Janeiro, Recife and other large cities. Carjacking is also common, particularly in major cities. The statistics posted by the Brazilian Public Security Forum indicated that over 47,000 violent crimes were committed in 2019. Crime levels in the Brazilian favelas are considerably higher than other areas due to gangs controlling the areas. Victims of these gangs, both inside and outside the "no-go" areas, have been seriously injured or killed when attempting to resist their perpetrators. During peak tourist seasons, large, organized criminal gangs have reportedly robbed and assaulted beach goers. The country is well known for having almost 60,000 documented murders every year for the past decade, mostly drug and robbery related.
'Express kidnappings', where individuals are abducted and forced to withdraw funds from automated teller machines to secure their release, are common in major cities including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Recife. People have been robbed and assaulted when using unregistered taxis. Petty crime such as pickpocketing and bag snatching are common. Thieves operate in outdoor markets, in hotels and on public transport.
Colombia
Elements of all the armed groups have been involved in drug-trafficking. In a country where the presence of the state has always been weak, the result has been a grinding war on multiple fronts, with the civilian population caught in the crossfire and often deliberately targeted for "collaborating". Human rights advocates blame paramilitaries for massacres, "disappearances", and cases of torture and forced displacement. Rebel groups such as the FARC and the ELN are behind assassinations, kidnapping and extortion. The level of drug related violence was halved in the last 10 years, when the country moved from being the most violent country in the world to have a homicide rate that is inferior to the one registered in countries like Honduras, Jamaica, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa.
The administration of President Uribe has sought to professionalize the armed forces and to engage them more fully in the counterinsurgency war; as a result, the armed groups have suffered a series of setbacks. Police in Colombia say the number of people kidnapped has fallen 92% since 2000. Common criminals are now the perpetrators of the overwhelming majority of kidnappings. By the year 2016, the number of kidnappings in Colombia had declined to 205 and it continues to decline.