Crisis of insecurity in the Suburban: the Government now sends 4 thousand more gendarmes and will put $ 12 billion

Ignacio Ortelli

03/09/2020 - 14:40

• Clarín.com

• Politics

With the crime numbers growing exponentially, even though there are still restrictions on circulation due to the pandemic,

will launch this Friday a plan to combat insecurity in the province of Buenos Aires that includes the sending of

-mainly gendarmes- plus the Conurbano and

for investment in infrastructure and equipment. 

Although governments pass and the bombastic announcements fail to result in solutions for citizens, it is the first time that the head of state has been in charge of a Security announcement since he took office.

And it is not circumstantial: in the latest polls,

, it appears that

, beyond the coronavirus, the economy and corruption, another issue that, regardless of the situation, is usually maintained at top of the ranking.

Pushed by this scenario, the President put the ideological debate in the area on standby, which his administration embodied against the legacy of 

and

.

"Let those who commit crimes know that we stood up to stop them," he said days ago at a ceremony in Greater Buenos Aires.

It was, after almost 9 months, the hardest message that came from the National Executive, in tune with the profile that converted the Buenos Aires Minister of Security,

;

in one of the leaders of the ruling party with the best image. 

With this plan, which also includes the refurbishment of police stations and prisons, the construction of new penitentiary centers and safe shelters for victims of gender violence, the recruitment 

, with cameras. security and anti-panic button;

Alberto F. comes to the rescue of the Buenos Aires governor,

;

and of the mayors located in Greater Buenos Aires.

Is that the budgetary items provided for the emergency program will go to the Province, naturally, but also to the mayors who raised their voices since they have been allocating funds from the municipal coffers for the purchase and maintenance of patrol cars.

The idea is to speed up the purchase of equipment so that changes are quickly noticed.

Politically, the mayors also

, with whom a group maintains a tense relationship.

The high profile of the minister and his flirtation with a possible candidacy, protected by the protective umbrella of

, explain part of that tension.   

The postcard that the Government chose to make the announcement has to do with that behind the scenes: the President will surround himself with the governor, but also with mayors.

It will also try to show that the fierce rift between the Minister of National Security,

;

and Berni;

it is part of the past.

Or, at least, that it will not impact the fight against crime.

In fact, both in the environments of both ministers agree that Nation and Province "worked in coordination."

.

Near Berni, for example, they highlight that the official spent a large part of the isolation to which he was subjected when he contracted coronavirus "writing the comprehensive security plan", while from the Nation they warn that Frederic worked intensely on what will be announced this Friday.

As Clarín learned, for this reason he passed through Quinta de Olivos on several occasions in recent weeks.

Strictly speaking, there is something certain about both stories: Fernández and Kicillof asked their ministers for maximum collaboration.

"

", was the message that they downloaded.

Hence, neither Berni publicly celebrated the sending of 4,000 federal troops to be added to the 6,000 that are already deployed in the Conurbano, nor did Frederic process it as a defeat.

According to data from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security, in July there were only 17 percent fewer crimes in relation to the same month of 2019. Although it is a drop, it is a strong increase if one considers that it occurred in a context of limited circulation. 

Frederic and Berni, beyond their intersections and the differences that at times seem insurmountable,

.

The minister, for example, stated that land occupation "is not a security issue" but responds to a "housing deficit" that generates greater "conflict", while Berni has been warning about a growing number of "new criminals. ", that is, people who have no prior record and are arrested for the first time;

in the framework of crimes against private property.

Although both the national government and the province attribute the growth of crime to the impact of the economic crisis due to the quarantine, the mayors who spent the last weeks at Quinta de Olivos made a different diagnosis: they relate it to the actions of gangs organized.

"In the Conurbano, the vulnerable sectors are contained, they are not the ones who go out and kill.

" was the analysis that one of them made before the President and the Small table of the ruling party in the classic Tuesday lunch.

(La Matanza),

(Avellaneda),

(Hurlingham) and

(Lomas de Zamora)

joined in the last meals

.

The mayors' diagnosis was crude and anticipated the tough stance that the PJ mayors put forward when they condemned the illegal takeovers and asked

.

From now on, the President's idea is to expand the guest list to see first-hand what is happening in other districts of the Conurbano.

Despite the fact that the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Massa;

works on a project to create a Metropolitan Security Agency;

At the moment, as they assure from the Nation and Province, the plan does not contemplate legislative reforms to toughen penalties or, at a time when

, to limit the margin of discretion of the judges.

That wild card, to take away the agenda from the opposition, may remain for the legislative campaign.