Dispatches International
crime is simply becoming more acute. This prompts another question, why does the public believe that crime is on the rise in Latin America? According to Latino-
barómetro 2008, an annual compilation of facts related to countries in Latin America, crime is generally perceived as the main problem, followed by unemployment. This means that 2008 was the first time since 1995 that delinquency has been considered the most important social problem in Latin America. In Ecuador, the same trend is true. Lautaro Ojeda, a sociolo-
gist and researcher of crime perceptions in Ecuador, be- lieves that it can be denied that the violence has increased in the last few years. The mass media groups, he argues, are responsible for the increased perception of crime and dan- ger. Ojeda thinks that the newspapers, radio stations, and television channels rarely offer an investigated perspec- tive of what is really happening in Latin American cities. “As a consequence, it
could cause bad reactions like fear or insecurity but it is not proven that it could affect peo- ple’s behavior, to become more violent, for example,” says Oje- da. ”It can reproduce how some crimes occurred, but there are some sensationalist journalists that go to the victims’ relatives
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and ask them how they feel.” It is obvious that such a bloody form of journalism is revolting to Ojeda. “How are the fami- lies of the victims supposed to feel? It is morbid. It is jour- nalism without ethics.” In Ecuador, violent acts
are the favorite “dishes” served up by El Extra, Diario Super, and Ultimas Noticias, among other newspapers. Rapes, mur- ders, and other crimes and rob- beries are shown with relish by the broadcast media as well, such as El Noticiero from the TC Television Channel. Marcia Jaramillo, the
sixty-year-old woman from Quito, shares a story that rein- forces the sentiments of Ojeda. “Some months ago, a 50-year- old man approached me on the street. He asked me for a favor. He wanted to know how to find an address. He looked strange or maybe I just thought it,” she says, unashamed of telling this story. “I decided to say that I did not know that address and I continued walking.” She was afraid that the man might rob her, assault her, or worse. “Everyday, the mass me-
dia informs us that many people are swindled and stolen from on the street in many different ways,” says Jaramillo. “Some are drugged with a substance called escopolamina. It is ex- tracted from guanto, a flower that my grandmother used to use to calm me and my cousins
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