domino effect
Chile has about 15.8 million registered voters, and this year, for the first time since 2012, all are required by law to vote in presidential elections.
Casto is believed to have the upper hand in Sunday’s runoff election.
He came in second place in the first round of voting in November, but is expected to garner further support from conservative candidates who missed the deadline for the second round.
But some voters expressed skepticism about the focus on crime in this year’s election campaign.
Daniela Ocaranza, a mother who lives in a low-income area of Santiago, believes the increased attention to crime is a ploy.
She volunteers with an organization that fights for affordable housing and believes politicians are using the rise in crime to persuade voters to devote more resources to public safety.
“Crime is on the rise,” Ocaranza acknowledged. “But this happens in every country.”
She said the media was partly to blame for stirring up fear. “Since the same crime occurs 30 times a day, morning, noon, and night, it is recognized that there are more.”
“But there are many other things that are more important,” Ocaranza stressed, citing issues such as education, health care and pensions. These are the areas she thinks Jarrah, who is expected to vote on Sunday, should work on most.
Mr Johnson said politicians would develop hard-line policies to appease residents who want urgent action.
But he noted that research shows that punitive measures usually have no consequences. But he warned that extreme fear of crime could have real-world consequences.
“Today, fewer people are going to see the arts, go to the theater, go out to restaurants. So not only is it limiting people’s quality of life, it’s also limiting economic development,” Johnson said.
“Fear is very harmful. It may even be more harmful than the actual crime.”
