mi buenos aires

BUENOS AIRES BRIEFING
November 2004

News this month

Take no prisoners

With public concern running high over crime, Buenos Aires provincial security forces have taken a new tough line to deal with a series of high-profile kidnappings. In two separate cases last month, armed police stormed houses to rescue kidnap victims, killing their captors. This proactive approach has been trumpeted by León Arslanián, the provincial security chief, who declared that the administration was finally winning the war on kidnapping. But it is a risky strategy. A bungled rescue attempt in March led to the death of Axel Blumberg, a kidnapped student. His story has been at the centre of his father's anti-crime crusade, and police officers—nervous about a reprise—had been following a policy of arresting kidnappers only after ransom was paid and the victim was released. So these new cases mark a reverse in policy. The successes have boosted morale, but another blunder will surely spark another round of protests.

To assure residents that other crime problems are being addressed, Buenos Aires city authorities have pledged to launch an unarmed “Urban Guard” early next year. This new non-violent, anti-crime force will handle minor infractions, calling on the police when necessary.

For background, see: The battle for safer streets, September 30th 2004

Presidential scares

Even Néstor Kirchner, Argentina's president, has been a target in the country's recent crime wave, after an intruder broke into the grounds of the presidential residence in Olivos, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in October. The man climbed the wall surrounding the residence and wandered the grounds for around three hours, asking one member of staff for a glass of water before escaping unhindered. Argentines are well-versed in conspiracy theories, and the government publicly fretted that the incident was meant as a warning to the president. It was unclear, however, exactly what message the intruder was trying to convey.

The episode came just days after another scare, when an engine failure forced the presidential jet, Tango 01, to make an emergency landing at the capital's main airport. Both incidents have led to an overhaul of presidential security, with new controls at Olivos and a detailed examination of Tango 01. But the most noticeable measure is expected to be high ornamental railings around the Casa Rosada presidential palace in the centre of the city, to keep out demonstrators.

Also in the Buenos Aires guide Tête-à-tête dining The Soul Café bills itself as a “boogie restaurant and sushi bar”... Read more

Cruel punishment

The Buenos Aires provincial prison system has been labelled “cruel and perverse” in an official study. A provincial human rights group investigated thousands of cases and found chronic overcrowding, limited resources and widespread torture, including electric shocks, beatings, suffocation and blows to the soles of the feet. The study's authors reckon that the abuses are the responsibility of the prison authorities, with the connivance of the public, which is clamouring for tougher law enforcement in response to a recent crime wave.

Harsher sentencing laws mean the province's jails now hold 25,000 prisoners in a system with capacity for 19,000. Around another 5,000 are being held in the cells of provincial police stations. So there are now 220 prisoners for every 100,000 citizens of the province, the highest proportion in the region. The provincial authorities hope to alleviate the problem of capacity by building ten new jails within the next two years, with room for around 5,000 prisoners. But with the prison population rising by over 3,000 a year, the new facilities will make only a partial dent on the problem. Worst of all, the tough prison system, which dates from 1999, appears to have done nothing to reduce crime, which has leapt by around half since 1998.

Once more, with feeling

In October, the city council launched a drive to force drivers to wear their seat belts or face stiff fines. Seat belts have long been obligatory in Argentina, but the law has rarely been enforced, even though the authorities reckon that it would prevent 60% of road deaths. On the first day of the campaign, an army of police officers imposed over 2,000 fines of between $15 and $165. That saw observance shoot up immediately to around 90%, from less than 10% before the campaign. In November, seatbelts will also be made compulsory in the front seats on buses.

In general, the public has welcomed the plan. But some opposition politicians have argued that the drive only highlights the absence of a more general road-safety policy. Others decried the scheme as merely a way of raising funds, a charge denied by Aníbal Ibarra, the city chief, who said that the money raised was insignificant within the city's overall budget.

Party time

Visitors to Buenos Aires during the summer carnival should watch out if they want to avoid a soaking. In October, the province's legislators approved a law to legalise the throwing of water and paper, although only during the festival. This runs counter to a series of laws issued in 1973, which outlawed such high-spirited japes, along with a range of offences including disguising oneself as a celebrity, dressing in uniform and changing one's physical appearance with wigs, false beards or masks. All these activities will now be allowed at carnival time.

The move follows attempts by the Buenos Aires city council to revive the capital's carnival. But it has yet to convince central government of the need to restore the two days of public holidays for the carnival, which were abolished by the military government during the 1970s.