ABSTRACT
When a journalist asked Argentina’s former Secretary of Justice and Safety, León Arslanián, whether proposing “iron fist” measures would deliver more votes in an election, Arslanián did not hesitate to respond “yes, I believe so.”1 Arslanián led one of the most comprehensive attempts to reform a police force in contemporary Latin America. His attempt failed because of the strong institutional and political resistance from a powerful pro-order coalition, as well as a simple electoral factor: proposing “tough” punitive measures against delinquency is a strategy that many politicians are likely to use because many citizens are likely to applaud. This seems to be the case in many Latin American countries2 and, indeed, in democracies everywhere. Indeed, the French National Assembly adopted a sweeping anti-crime law in early February 2004, giving prosecutors and the police new power to fight organized crime, including the extension from two to four days the period in which suspects can be detained and questioned without charges against them.3
