Blog 10: UN Report Suggests Social Unrest Linked To Inequality In Latin America

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            This article explains how violence and unrest in Latin America have been a result of inequality. The United Nations issued a report saying that the Latin American countries with the greatest number of conflict are those with broad social inequalities. In countries like Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, there was extremely high social conflict. The UN also found that there is a limited capacity to manage unrest. The specific conflict ultimately determines the effectiveness of that country’s political process.

            Costa, Chile, and El Salvador are the countries with the lowest levels of unrest. Heraldo Munoz, who is the United Nations Development Programs Director for Latin America and the Caribbean said in a press release that democracies enable social conflict as a constructive tool for peoples’ demands for improved quality of life. According to the report unrest was categorized as social, institutional and cultural tensions and said that the unrest in Latin America is numerous compared to the other regions and is characterized by a high amount of citizen participation. Munoz believed that depending on how these situations are managed, social conflicts can easily become gateways for change as opposed to destruction. Munoz stated that “If they are managed through dialogue and negotiation and their causes are addressed, they are great opportunities for profound transformations – and for a more equitable and just Latin America.” He is saying that if there is a way to compromise and talk on their level then there will be an opportunity to stop or at least reduce the violence.

            The UN’s findings seem counter intuitive to the political and social climates in a majority of Latin American countries. Even though there are anti-government sentiments in both Argentina and Bolivia, the two countries are generally deemed by experts to have fairly stable governments even though they may be considered poor. However, El Salvador has a large scale of problems with violence related to the country’s maras, or gangs, and Chile has been dealing with student and environmental protests since the start of President Sebastián Piñera’s duration in office.

            It was also found that just under 60 percent of the organizations and individuals involved in social conflicts had a presence on the Internet, which along with other communications technologies allows social movements to interact, spread messages through videos and raise funds. There was a UNDP news release that stated that the Internet and other tools have also been increasingly important for historically marginalized groups as well as indigenous people.

            Social conflict is what starts violence. When the people of a country are not getting treated fairly they often protest and take action. Unfortunately these protests in Latin America led to violent behavior. Governments need to learn how to adhere to their citizens. Even though there are many people in the United States that disagree or dislike the government, the United States still have a good system. There has to be a way that the United Nations can do more to stop these chaotic events because the things that are going on now are not working very well. 

 Article Link: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/04/17/un-report-suggests-social-unrest-linked-to-inequality-in-latin-america/