Crime and Political Disorder in the Capital

The immigration issue has percolated down to Santiago where it merges with another subject which is difficult for the Boric administration—crime and disorder in the streets. Many immigrants have settled in Santiago looking for economic opportunities. This has led to an increased presence of informal street vendors, a phenomenon familiar in other Latin American capitals, but which typically had not been a major feature of Chile’s capital. On May 1, a leftist march passed through a commercial district where a large number of vendors had congregated. Some elements among the marchers sought to take advantage and rob them. In response, guns were fired and in the process, a local journalist/activist was killed. A Venezuelan and a Colombian were arrested.

The government has cast its response in terms of the need for tougher gun control, while staying away from both the question of violence associated with marches or that of the increasing presence in the city of illegal informal commerce. (Santiago’s Communist mayor has generally taken a soft line on these subjects.) This comes at a time when the public perception of crime generally has increased. Also, political disorder from those on the far-left fringe of Boric’s base seems to be increasing.

This has included disruptions at several public high schools. Also, a plaza that had been the site of a lengthy occupation in the turbulent months prior to the election is again becoming a periodic focus of disturbances. (Nearby merchants have complained; the Boric administration has promised them compensation, but seems disinclined to take tougher action to maintain order.) A bus was recently set on fire.

Paying a Political Price

Security concerns, be they the growing violence in the indigenous areas, illegal immigration, or urban disorder, are by no means Boric’s only problem, as Chile, like other countries in the post-coronavirus environment, is facing high inflation and a sluggish economy. But they are creating a generalized sensation that the administration is unable to get a grip on the country. A large part of his political base is opposed to tougher measures on these fronts, and tends to view the police and military entirely through the lens of human rights performance while remaining convinced that increased attention to low-income Chileans’ needs is the only long term solution to public order issues. Thus any moves towards a harder line will meet resistance from his own camp while the right uses the security issue to rebuild its own political position.

Boric’s popularity has sunk dramatically. But his willingness to reverse himself on the question of using the military in the south shows that he is not indifferent to the liability that the security issue presents. And he is certainly correct in arguing that these are longstanding issues that to a greater or lesser extent have their roots in unmet social needs. But unless he can thread the needle with his own coalition and find a way to get on top of these problems he will create a permanent impression of ungovernability and with it face real damage to his political brand.

Richard M. Sanders is a Global Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Formerly a member of the Senior Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State, his postings included positions at embassies in Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Venezuela and as Director of the Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs.

Image: Reuters.