The Center for Analysis for Democracy (CAD) participated in the seminar "Threats to Democracy in the Antofagasta Region: Security and Organized Crime", organized by the Law program of the University of Alba, Antofagasta campus, and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation. The event brought together law enforcement and security forces, parliamentarians, academics, and neighborhood groups to analyze how organized crime impacts different segments of the population and how coordinated work between actors can contribute to combating it.
The main exhibition was presented by Pablo Zeballos, senior researcher at CAD, who addressed the main security challenges for the region.
Organized crime as an economic model
Zeballos put forward a central thesis: organized crime It's not just violence, but an economic model. — it develops where conditions exist for illicit economies to thrive.
«"The Antofagasta region has very strong conditions that make this possible: it has a port, poorly controlled routes, a high level of drug consumption, and it also borders a country that is one of the three cocaine producers in the world. The challenges are complex."»
Pablo Zeballos, senior researcher at CAD
Impact on vulnerable communities
The researcher highlighted the disproportionate effect of the phenomenon on the most vulnerable segments of the population. Crime, he said, is «"A dramatically strong threat to vulnerable communities. In the case of women, it affects them mainly through crimes associated with sexual connotations; for children, through school dropout."».
Collaboration between institutions
Regarding the meeting, Zeballos stated that «"It is encouraging to see how law enforcement, the armed forces, and parliamentarians of different political leanings can come together in the same place."». The event brought together actors who usually operate in silos: the public security sector, the legislative branch, academia, and grassroots territorial organizations.
The role of academia
Zeballos emphasized that the academy «"It is indebted to the understanding of this phenomenon, and with all the capacity it has, it can quickly make up for it — with more activity, research, and generating interest in the student community to learn about these issues, but focused on solutions."».
Seminar date: April 2, 2025.
Place: University of Alba, Antofagasta campus.
Organized by: UAlba Law Degree + Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation (KAS Chile).
Institutional coverage: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung — Chile.
Zeballos' related work in CAD: the conceptual framework of the «"fourth wave of transnational crime"» (with Douglas Farah, KAS Political Dialogue).
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