The Ministry of the Interior presented data on crimes. In this sense, the Secretary of State reported that in 2021 homicides had a drop of 11.2% compared to 2020, and 23.7% if compared to 2019. Reports of theft decreased 5.5% during 2021 and 19.9% between 2019 and 2020. Rapines experienced a drop of 13.5% and 18.8% in the same years considered. While complaints of domestic violence fell 0.6% compared to 2020 and 1.3% compared to 2019.
early celebrations
As a result, the Frente Amplio senator, Charles Carrera, said that the data published by the Ministry of the Interior “does not allow analyzing the increase in violence in the last semester, which coincides with the return to pre-pandemic mobility rates.”
“The increase in homicides in the second half of last year is an alert, which the Ministry of the Interior tries to placate with general figures and anticipated celebrations,” questioned the legislator from the Front.
Carrera expressed that “it is imperative to face and solve the problems of the people”, because the primary function of a government is “to apply public policies that improve the quality of life of the people, not to be in an electoral campaign permanently”.
He indicated that “the trend of the increase in homicides that comes from June 2021 is maintained in the first 18 days of January: there are 21 homicides and three cases of people killed by the Police. In these cases, Justice must determine if they were within the framework of the procedure. In addition, there were several dozen attempted homicides, of people who were attacked with firearms or knives.
He added that “the presentation of general data on homicides makes the reality of the different territories invisible, with significant heterogeneity in the distribution of cases and in the level of violence.” Such is the case of Rivera, “who more than doubled homicides in 2020 and sustained this increase in 2021.” He also exemplified with Zone 3 of Montevideo, which “concentrates almost half of the homicides of the country’s capital”
For Carrera, the information presented by the Ministry of the Interior leaves several sides unanswered. For example, “about the significant increase in femicides that occurred in 2021, when 27 cases were registered. In 2020 there were 20 and in the first two weeks of January three are already registered.
“Nothing is said about the historical record for deaths in prisons: 86 people died in custody. The increase is 79% compared to 2020 and 96% when compared to 2019,” denounced the opposition parliamentarian.
Desperate
For his part, the director of Coexistence and Citizen Security of the Ministry of the Interior, Santiago González, told El Espectador that Carrera “is one of those responsible for the collapse and one of the moments of greatest explosion of insecurity that gave the multi-colored government. He described as “appalling” the numbers left by the administration of the Broad Front.
“I understand that Senator Carrera is desperate because the numbers give us bad to feel happy.”
“He believes that this is a situation between frontists and coalition; between President Lacalle and the FA governments, but the people are in the middle of that discussion,” he said.
The hierarch asked: “Did you see a pasta base mouth with a sign that said ‘we are closed due to a pandemic’? Or a rapiñero who says he quarantined with the boss? What there weren’t were cruise passengers and they didn’t steal Rolex, but they stole cable, copper, bicycles, cars, or whatever. That is why the increase in prisoners. You can’t fool people.”
