Argentina: Lowering the age of imputability is soaping the slide to hell, says Archbishop

The Archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo (Argentina), Mons. Jorge Lozano, shared the reflection No kid is born a jetregarding the project to lower the age from which a person can be sentenced for a crime – currently it is 16 – to 13 years.

The prelate began his column, published in the newspaper The nation, drawing a parallel between crime and poverty: “No kid is born a thief… but many come into the world with the stigma of poverty. Children are not born equal. They are no longer in the mother’s womb,” he noted.

In this regard, he asked: “Why are minors who commit crimes below the poverty line? Why don’t those who regularly attend school, eat well, sleep adequately, play sports, and participate in parties commit crimes? “These children never slept outdoors, they did not see a weapon up close, they do not have relatives or neighbors in prison,” he indicated.

By specifically referring to the bill sent to Congress by the National Government, which proposes lowering the age of imputability to 13 years, described the movement as “a spasmodic solution”, that is, “a short path that solves the problem but without going to the root.”

“It is striking that they seek to punish crimes in which minors are an active part, and little is proposed in violations of the law in which minors are victims, such as human trafficking,” he warned, noting that “there are hundreds those kidnapped annually for labor and sexual exploitation, or the sale of organs”

Mons. Lozano considered “urgent” the need to “modify the perverse mechanism in which ‘the first job’ is criminal.”

In that sense, he highlighted that “it is immoral for boys, girls, and adolescents to be outside the educational system, outside the health system, without places to play, deprived of sports playgrounds, clubs, theater or music workshops, and trade training.”

“Half of primary school students do not reach the level of reading-comprehension appropriate for their age; 6th grade students do not reach 70% on that same item; Summarizing: 7 out of 10 Argentine children do not understand the texts they read; 54% of those who enter secondary school graduate; Less than 2 in 10 do it in a timely manner. These numbers are indicators of concrete severity,” she explained.

The prelate also expressed that “not all those who do not finish school are criminals” and that the adults responsible for corruption and criminal organization “have studied in private schools—even Catholic—and perhaps completed university studies.”

Bishop Lozano then referred to the “narco-state”, more present in many neighborhoods than the Argentine State itself.

“When we talk about socio-urban integration of popular neighborhoods, we are not talking about isolated building issues but rather proposals that include all the spaces that make up a neighborhood,” he explained.

“Where is the problem? In the minor who commits a crime or in the permanent absences from the Institutions to arrive on time? “Is the only way in this situation to lower the age of imputability and confinement?” She questioned, recalling that “in the context of prison, significant progress is not achieved in the processes of personal development.”

“It is not about proposing impunity and anomie either. The application of the principles of Restorative Justice is a more appropriate path and with good levels of favorable results. It is important that those who commit crimes while minors take responsibility for their actions,” he clarified.

At the same time, he considered it necessary to “promote conditions to prevent juvenile crime,” and noted that this “is the responsibility of each family, the various institutions of society, and mainly the State.”

Instead of building more prisons to lower the entry age of minors, he called for “investing in prevention spaces,” considering it important “that the assets confiscated from organized crime be dedicated to promoting spaces for the adequate growth and development of boys and girls.” and adolescents.”

“Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to be stricter with organized crime by adults, who take advantage of the conditions of vulnerability in some neighborhoods and recruit minors for crime? “What is proposed to punish adults who put a weapon in the hands of a minor,” she stated.

“We need to dedicate more teachers, more health personnel, more social workers, in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. More containment and development networks that ensure that social advancement is stimulated, and not soap the slide that leads to hell,” she concluded.