Fighting drug trafficking is a foreign policy priority for public opinion in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru

By: José Tomás Tenorio Labra, El Mercurio, Chile (*)

Faced with various security crises characterized, among other things, by a greater presence and activity of organized crime, public opinion in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru agree on what they consider should be the priority objective of foreign policy. of his own country: the fight against drug trafficking. This is one of the conclusions of the survey “Perceptions of Foreign Policy and National Security” carried out in these four countries by the Chilean study center AthenaLab together with the consultancy Ipsos and which also found important differences, such as the consideration of other objectives or in the view of other nations.

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In its fourth edition, the study –which has been carried out since 2020 in Chile and which for the first time also carried out the survey simultaneously in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru– proposed to the people consulted 14 possible foreign policy objectives for their own country, He asked about the nations considered “role models” and by which ones they are seen as partners.

Between 86% and 90% of the people surveyed in the four countries considered the fight against drug trafficking as a “very important” objective of foreign policy. (see graph).

The study pointed out that although the fight against drug trafficking “is a security objective, it undoubtedly requires the coordination of several States”, which is why the coincidence in the responses of the four countries “would be a good starting point to hold a summit or a neighborhood meeting to improve cooperation in security matters.”

Carolina Valdivia, member of the AthenaLab Advisory Council, assured “El Mercurio” that the fact that drug trafficking occupies the first foreign policy priority for citizens speaks of “the magnitude of this phenomenon and the perception of insecurity it generates among the population (…) As it is a shared priority in all the countries where the survey was applied, it can be concluded that there are incentives to cooperate, to agree on mechanisms and formulas that make it possible to deal with organized crime in general”.

In the north of Chile, they disrupt the drug trafficking network that operated between Tacna and Arica.

attract investment

The differences are noticeable in the other priorities. While in Chile migration regulation —another regional phenomenon— was positioned as the second most important objective; In Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru, they mention attracting technology companies as a second priority, an item that in Chile fell behind regulating migration, protecting borders, combating climate change, and defending maritime interests.

“Indeed, migration is a regional phenomenon, but Peru and Chile have had a greater impact than Argentina and Bolivia (…) On the other hand, in Chile it is a more recent, new phenomenon, and it has had consequences on the local and central government social security systems. Given that in Chile this network is more developed than in other of our neighbors, where informality is more established, the effects are perceived differently. From there I intuit that for Chileans it is more relevant to proceed with regularization,” Valdivia said.

In the case of Argentina, the great importance given to attracting technology companies, over issues such as border protection, the fight against climate change and the defense of maritime interests, among others, highlights the fact that “Argentina is discussing development options and that Argentine development per se depends on the ability to capture and attract foreign companies, to be able to expand what was once an economically vigorous country, since the 1990s. Because Argentina not only did not transnationalize, but also closed its economy. And what is being seen now is a period of more economic openness and more transnationalization of the economy,” Juan Battaleme, academic director of the Argentine Council for International Relations, told “El Mercurio.”

Similarly, the Peruvian historian and associate professor of Latin American History at the Institute of History of the University of the Andes, Ricardo Cubas Ramacciotti, assured that in the case of Peru “the concern for technology companies is related to some factors. One is the little investment that has been made in what has to do with technology, with innovation, which has generated awareness that Peru is lagging far behind. There is also a concern for national security, to have an effective security system in the entire cybernetic aspect, in the entire aspect of the networks and the multiple false news”.

Fake news is also a matter of concern. (Photo: Getty Images)

partners and models

The survey also revealed differences in the perception that the four nations have when it comes to attributing the status of partners to other countries. China is the most outstanding case, since it is considered the first partner in Peru and Bolivia and the second in Argentina and Chile. “The economic weight gained by the Asian giant has undoubtedly permeated the region,” the report notes.

The US, a systemic rival of Beijing, only ranked first in Chile, being relegated in the list in the rest of the countries: in Peru it was 3rd, in Argentina 7th, and in Bolivia 11th.

And within the region, Brazil also occupied an important place by being ranked first in the list of partners for Argentina, second in the cases of Peru and Bolivia, and fifth in Chile.

The study underlines that despite the geographical proximity of the four countries in which the survey was applied, they do not perceive each other as great partners. In its analysis, AthenaLab maintains that this phenomenon “could be due to many realities, ranging from historical disputes over boundaries, to the fact that they do not trade with each other (these four countries), since their economies, in some cases, produce goods Similar”.

Regarding nations considered as “model” for the countries analyzed, the survey revealed that the US led the list in Chile, Argentina and Peru; standing out in the latter with a 27% response in its favor, well above other countries mentioned. In the case of Bolivia, the US shares first place with El Salvador and Japan.

According to the study center, the preference for the US as a “model” country occurs “despite all the ground that China has gained in the region and the presence of leftist governments that, rather, have antagonized Washington through time”.

(*) Grupo de Diarios América (GDA), to which El Comercio belongs, is a leading media network founded in 1991, which promotes democratic values, the independent press and freedom of expression in Latin America through quality journalism for our hearings.

Source: Elcomercio