PALMIRA, Colombia – A new program in the southern Colombian city of Palmira has significantly reduced its murder rate, showcasing the city’s commitment to social innovation as an effective strategy for combating violence without the need for additional resources or traditional security measures. The program uses an epidemiological approach to identify homicide clusters and provides family support, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, with the goal of keeping teenagers in the education system and providing extracurricular activities in sport and music. Through this approach, the program has not only reclaimed public spaces from the city’s gangs but also transformed the lives of thousands of young people.
The city’s mayor, Óscar Escobar, expressed that the program has been more effective than traditional security measures and is a significant improvement, cutting the city’s murder rate by 29 percent to 42.9 homicides per 100,000 residents, its lowest in 17 years. The mayor and his team have managed to reach some 30,000 young people, offering them opportunities for a better future. One of the program’s participants, Marcela Cabal, shared that the training she received to become a motorbike mechanic has provided her with an income to support her two young boys through school.
The success of Palmira’s social-based interventions stands in contrast to the “mano dura” or iron-fist security crackdown implemented by President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, which has been criticized by human rights organizations and security experts. Despite the reduction in El Salvador’s murder rate, experts assert that addressing the social roots of gang-related violence is necessary for long-term success. They argue that public health approaches like the one in Palmira shed light on the dynamics of lethal violence, offering a better appreciation of how violence clusters can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of responses.
While the program’s success in Palmira demonstrates the potential of social-based interventions, it also highlights the need for a holistic strategy to address the social roots of gang violence in Latin America. The program’s focus on supporting young people and reclaiming public spaces from gangs offers a glimpse of the possibilities for reducing violence in the region through innovative and holistic approaches.
President Nayib Bukele’s “mano dura” security crackdown in El Salvador, which saw tens of thousands of gangsters rounded up and detained, has reduced the country’s murder rate. However, human rights organizations and security experts argue that such policies only work in the short-term, and stress the need for a holistic strategy that addresses the social roots of gang-related violence. Treating homicide as a security issue often results in focusing on symptoms rather than causes, experts say, emphasizing that a better appreciation of how violence clusters can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of responses.