The circus of the iron fist: heavy police presence, zero results on the street

Every time polls show popular discontent over economic stagnation and the lack of decent jobs, candidates of the new reactionary populist right pull out their favorite trick from the script: the circus of the "iron fist."

They promise to eradicate crime by militarizing working-class neighborhoods, chasing street vendors out of the plazas and building mega-prisons with live television cameras.

All of this is the perfect bait to frighten the middle class and win votes amid social disillusionment.

But look behind the stage: not one of the measures of punitive populism addresses the real roots of urban violence or touches the actual bosses of organized crime. None of these leaders of loud rhetoric audits the bank accounts of the large financial networks that launder billions of dollars from drug trafficking through the real estate market and the banking centers of the region. The spectacle of the police state goes after the weakest link in the chain, while those at the top continue to enjoy absolute impunity.

The real purpose of iron-fist rhetoric is to distract the population while finance ministries quietly cut budgets for public universities, privatize water services and lower taxes for large transnational corporations. Lasting citizen security does not come from suspending constitutional guarantees or turning the country into a police compound, but from guaranteeing formal employment with decent wages, quality public education and social inclusion for young people.