Viewpoint
One of the challenges of democratic systems – perhaps the greatest – is to implement an efficient and effective justice system, within the legal framework.
It is pertinent to ask why the Bukele government enjoys such success and popularity, especially when economic, social or others have been significantly registered that these high support rates reflected in the surveys justify. Perhaps the answer is in the underlying theory of the Pyramid of Maslow, which establishes security as an essential condition for human beings to progress in their aspirations.
Security provides predictability to carry out activities such as working, walking and relaxing without fear of life. It is the fundamental reason that justify the existence of the State, exposed by many traditional thinkers, and collected in modern constitutions. For example, article 1 of the Constitution of Guatemala establishes: “The State of Guatemala is organized to protect the person and the family.”
Bukele, together with other authoritarian leaders, understood the situation and decided to take actions to stop and imprison those indicated to be alleged criminals. This strategy created a climate of repression positively perceived by most citizens, who appreciated that criminal acts no longer occurred. Significant mistakes were made, as publicly denounced, but many citizens prefer peace with certain injustices – always that they do not directly affect them – justice without peace. In the long term, the mistakes of the repression exerted by Bukele (as well as those of Castro, Chávez/Maduro and Ortega/Murillo) will become evident over time. However, in the short term, and from the feeling of the majority, the problem seems solved.
Delay the processes can lead to situations of lack of justice, which can be observed in the region and that are difficult to deny.
The same happens with drug trafficking and organized crime, and can be seen particularly in the neighboring country of Mexico. In the cities in which families of drug traffickers live, most of the inhabitants live calm because they know that these groups end at once with the crime that affects their daily lives, and they are aware that if they do not enter into collision with them, there is nothing to fear. Simple, but effective!
One of the challenges of democratic systems – perhaps the eldest – is to implement an efficient and effective justice system, within the legal framework. However, factors such as amparos, resources and bad systems can make the process prolonged, taking the resolution years, five or even decades. This delay can lead some people to think about taking measures for themselves, such as revenge or lynching. The problem is easy to understand and simple to apply. In some cases, however, lawyers can benefit more with an open cause for a time than with a system that solves the problem in a day, as with arbitration, which begins to be imposed in many countries, even in criminal matters. Dilating processes can lead to situations of lack of justice, which can be observed in the region and that are difficult to deny.
The point is whether the Leguleyos guild, with enormous power granted in the Constitution, or that manages a huge amount of money at school, in addition to other incompressible advantages, is willing to face this reality. In any case, the sovereign people should consider these types of issues to stop being partially led by power groups that distributed the country back in 1985, granting advantages of those who avoid talking because they are out of the way of operating advanced democracies for many years.
As in many other aspects, the problem has been clearly identified. The country has enough diagnoses; However, the implementation of the solution is always postponed.