El Salvador crackdown breaks the gangs – at huge cost to human rights
www.theguardian.com
War on gangs by populist leader Nayib Bukele has produced extraordinary change, but ‘the cure could be as harmful as the disease’

So Mr. Bitcoin President of El Salvador has deployed a massive wave of incarcerating violent gang members to combat endemic violence in the country, but also at the cost of civil liberties and also not addressing the root causes of the gang violence in the first place.

Of course, El Salvador has been among the most violent countries in the world in terms of murder rates and violent crimes so something had to be done, but I'm not convinced that this crackdown will do anything but kick the can down the road.

Thoughts? Also, apologies for the Guardian link it was the first summary to come up when I searched it :ohnoes:

  • The_Dawn [fae/faer, des/pair]
    ·
    2 years ago

    In 1979, urban unemployed workers within the People's Republic of China has reached 20 million, the highest number of unemployed since the founding of People's Republic of China. In Beijing alone, unemployment amounted to some 400,000 accounting for 8.6% of the city's total population. On average one person was unemployed for every 2.7 urban residents. The maximum number of unemployed persons in Tianjin was 380,000, accounting for 11.7% of the city's total population. The unemployed also included the sent down youth forced to retreat into the mountains and the countryside during the cultural revolution, accounting for the newly increased urban idle population.

    But I'm sure it rules that they tortured and killed a bunch of ppl

      • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I think the lesson to learn here is that revolutionaries should avoid associating with criminal, corrupt or mafia style organisations/elements. Sure they'll provide backing, but what comes afterwards is not worth it.

          • electerrific [none/use name]
            ·
            2 years ago

            1. Demand the young go around committing violence on the people

            2. Declare an end to their usefulness; Cultural Revolution is over

            3. Red Guards now out of a job

            4. What's the only skill they have? Going around committing violence on the people

            5. :surprised-pika:

    • HauntedBySpectacle [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I said it was unideal but not fascist, not that it "rules". I agree with you that fighting poverty is the best solution to crime, I just dislike the label fascist being used for a concept so broad it's happened in basically every society including socialist ones. Also I sent NATOpedia because it's a short overview and easily readable, maybe take its specifics with a grain of salt.

      • The_Dawn [fae/faer, des/pair]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Theres just not a carceral view of justice that doesnt seem to end in pogroms and institutionalized slavery. If you dont wanna call it fascist, fine, but its a view of "justice" exported from colonial states that always has disastrous results that look a lot like fascist microcosms.

        • HauntedBySpectacle [he/him, comrade/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Most prison systems are definitely bad, but I'm not sure where you draw the line on what is carceral vs rehabilitative justice. Even the most rehabilitative systems that have been actually implemented involve coercion, separation of prisoners from the mainstream of society, and other carceral measures. I would draw the distinction more between punitive vs rehabilitative justice than carceralism. Looking at the strength of reaction and the pervasiveness of interpersonal violence, I think some level of carceralism is probably necessary before full communism. At least enough to where I'm hesitant to write off policy made under trying circumstances by AES as fascist-colonial microcosms.

          This El Salvador stuff will probably be more bad than good because it is a bourgeois dictatorship implementing this.