Security becomes top issue for Chileans ahead of presidential elections

SANTIAGO, Chile -- SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chileans volition spell to the polls Sunday to elite their adjacent president successful a polarized predetermination wherever information is beforehand of mind.

Communist Jeannette Jara and the far-right José Antonio Kast person emerged arsenic the front-runners with campaigns focused connected information and akin proposals that see strengthening the police, expanding the country’s situation capacity, modernizing and acquiring caller instrumentality and grooming information forces.

Their promises travel arsenic Chileans person a increasing cognition that their country’s information is deteriorating. The South American nation, surrounded by mountains and oceans, has historically been considered a harmless country, particularly compared to different nations successful the region, but present information is simply a salient contented successful the pb up to elections.

Homicides successful Chile inactive stay debased compared to different countries successful Latin America, with 6 homicides per 100,000 radical successful 2023, according to the World Bank. However, successful caller years, Chile has seen an summation successful kidnapping, extortion, declaration sidesplitting and thefts of cellphones “linked to transnational organized crime” that began successful 2021, according to Hassel Barrientos, caput of the Anti-Kidnapping Brigade of the Investigations Police.

Almost 40% of homes were attacked past twelvemonth and astir 30% of radical were victims of immoderate benignant of crime, according to authoritative data. Now, astir 24% of Chileans judge they are apt to beryllium the unfortunate of a homicide successful the adjacent 12 months, according to a study published successful October by the Fundación Paz Ciudadana deliberation tank.

This has led to increasing concerns astir information that volition apt beryllium reflected astatine the ballot container connected Sunday.

The proprietor of a cafe successful Santiago's bustling Bellavista neighborhood, known for its bars and nightclubs, said the country has go a blistery spot for robberies, including of her clients.

“I had to instal distant surveillance cameras, concatenation the tables, and connected weekends I hired a information defender to assistance support watch,” said Leidy Paredes.

Another concern proprietor successful Macul, successful confederate Santiago, recounted that she suffered 2 equipped robberies arsenic she arrived home.

In one, the assailants tried to interruption into the location and ended up assaulting her mother. Since then, the 49-year-old pistillate — who asked not to beryllium identified for fearfulness of reprisals — has installed information cameras and alarms successful her location and hires a defender each clip she goes to the bank.

Allvip, a backstage information institution with implicit 28 years of experience, says its requests for caller clients is up to 40 to 50 per week compared to 10 a fewer years ago.

While these services were antecedently reserved for the elite, present immoderate mediate people Chileans are seeking these services, according to Karim Zahri, Allvip’s caput of security. Some Chileans person resorted to paying a defender to travel them connected the locomotion to their children’s schoolhouse oregon buying an armored car -- though these services are inactive outgo prohibitive for galore Chileans.

In Chile, the backstage information assemblage has grown 350% successful the past decade, according to a survey published successful December 2024 by the National Chamber of Commerce (CNC). This crook to backstage information could beryllium indicative of the deficiency of spot successful the state.

“The information that the State is obligated to supply to its citizens is deficient, starring to this disbursal being covered by the backstage sector, which has evidently besides created a caller occupation market,” said Sergio Morales, information coordinator for the CNC.

Outgoing President Gabriel Boric has promoted a bid of measures to curb violence, including the instauration of a Ministry of Security, the support of a caller anti-terrorism instrumentality and the implementation of specialized units dedicated to combating antithetic branches of organized crime, specified arsenic anti-narcotics and anti-kidnapping brigades.

Jara, who served arsenic Boric's labour minister, pledges to proceed these policies.

“We request to fortify the state’s beingness astatine the constabulary and situation levels, but it’s besides precise important astatine the vicinity and assemblage levels,” Jara told AP.

Kast is aiming for a hard-line approach. “We are going to retrieve order, security, powerfulness and the authorization of the State,” helium stated successful a caller speech.

Paredes, the cafe owner, says information is her priority, adjacent if it means turning extracurricular the authorities for help.

“I consciousness it successful my wallet, but astatine the extremity of the day, my clients' bid of caput doesn't person a price,” Paredes said.