El Salvador extends anti-gang emergency decree for 24th time. It's now been in effect for two years (www.independent.co.uk)
from Rapidcreek@lemmy.world to world@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 13:22
https://lemmy.world/post/12957835

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autotldr@lemmings.world on 10 Mar 2024 13:25 next collapse

This is the best summary I could come up with:


El Salvador’s lawmakers have granted a request by President Nayib Bukele for the 24th consecutive one-month extension of an anti-gang emergency decree.

The vote by congress late Friday means that by March 27, the country will have spent a full two years under the decree, which suspends some rights.

Bukele has used emergency powers to round up 78,175 suspected gang members in sweeps that rights groups say are often arbitrary, based on a person’s appearance or where they live.

But rights groups have expressed concerns about abuses inside El Salvador’s prisons, and say that innocent people are being caught up in sweeps targeting the notorious violent street gangs.

The gangs’ power was strongest in El Salvador’s poorest neighborhoods, where the state has been long absent.

They were a drain on the economy, extorting money from even the lowest earners, and forcing businesses that can’t or won’t pay to close.


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harderian729@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 15:29 collapse

Good.

Gangbangers are all scumbags.

Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 16:56 next collapse

There’s more to this than meets the eye, not everything is black and white.

Mafia helped Italian families because communities were being targeted unfairly by cops. Yakuza were a major part of the restoration of Japan.

Even in Mexico, military and cops realized they were getting fucked formed cartels, which are literally gangs.

Gangs are the result of a failure of government and society. Call them what you will, but painting it like gangs are evil is failing to recognize the nuance.

PatFussy@lemm.ee on 10 Mar 2024 18:14 collapse

MS13 started in Los Angeles. The people involved in that were either sent to prison or deported back to El Salvador. These ones that were deported are the ones that fucked everything up. The government didn’t know what to do so they did what they thought was correct. You also have to remember that this is AFTER AN EXTREMELY RECENT CIVIL WAR so the government didn’t want to intervene a ton. This was how MS started making their own checkpoints, their own safe cities and police had to pay THEM to travel around the cities. I don’t think any small government could be equipped to handle what MS did.

Son_of_dad@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 18:16 next collapse

With this decree I can imagine a percentage of the people in those awful jails are completely innocent and fucked.

I’m from El Salvador and this is gonna bite them in the ass. Once all the gangs are gone, you think all those hired cops are gonna accept unemployment and the president will just give up power? Lol. Those cops and these laws will soon be turned on political opponents, protesters and undesirables. Just like in the Philippines. I’m happy they hurt the gangs, but I guarantee they also destroyed innocent lives while doing it, and I guarantee this decree is gonna end up bad.

harderian729@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 20:58 next collapse

Unfortunately, punishing innocent people is a price El Salvadorians have to pay for enabling gangbangers for so long.

The only alternative is that the gangbanging gets to continue, and get worse. Unless you can think of some better solution?

Son_of_dad@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 22:32 collapse

Elect me first and I’ll come up with some. But seriously, I get it, but it sucks, and it just reminds me of where we were back in the 80s and early 90s with the civil war that led to all the gangs. Lots of innocent people got thrown to the wolves then too in the name of safety.

I wonder what happens if the decree is ever pulled, do the cops who are no longer needed go unemployed and end up forming the new street gangs? Cause that’s how we got here now, when the war ended we had a bunch of guerrilla with PTSD and no future in a peaceful country, so they turned to banditry.

dan1101@lemm.ee on 11 Mar 2024 12:10 collapse

They could come up with some sort of plan to transition them to other jobs like public works or other state-operated services. At least there would be a lawful path for the honest people to follow.

Son_of_dad@lemmy.world on 11 Mar 2024 14:45 collapse

El Salvador barely has any public services to begin with. Installing some to keep kids off gangs etc would be nice but they don’t have the money

sagrotan@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 2024 11:27 collapse

Exactly. It’s not working to put them all in jail, they just grow back. When they get adequate alternatives it’ll slow down eventually, but there’s no money in that, right?!

NOT_RICK@lemmy.world on 10 Mar 2024 18:48 collapse

Don’t see any potential issues with no due process?

[deleted] on 10 Mar 2024 20:57 collapse
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