We invite you to read the letter written by our Criminal Group director, Loreto Hoyos, on the debate generated around the application of the law regulating “high-risk funerals”.
MR. DIRECTOR:
The enactment of Law N°21.717, aimed at regulating the so-called “high-risk funerals” or “narcofunerals”, is far from settling the public debate that has been generated around the issue.
Although this regulation aims to prevent criminal acts and episodes of violence associated with this type of ceremonies, the fact of allowing them – albeit under strict police control – does not seem to dispel the concern of the public in the face of the advance of the narco-culture.
In fact, legitimate questions arise: Why allow these ceremonies to take place, even if only for a maximum period of 24 hours? Why tolerate them instead of prohibiting them? Doesn’t regulating this type of funerals imply, in some way, normalizing their existence and with it the narco culture? Are we on the right path by choosing to regulate instead of eradicate? These questions have returned with force to the public debate, especially after the recent funeral of “Guatón Mutema”, which again exposed the magnitude of the phenomenon in the facts.
However, regulating is not the same as legitimizing. Taking charge of a complex reality or problem through a law does not mean validating or tolerating the narcoculture, but quite the opposite: limiting it, restricting it and protecting citizens from its most dangerous expressions.
The implementation of this law represents an important step in the fight against organized crime. It is not a matter of endorsing or escorting these events, but of establishing clear limits that protect the population from manifestations that seriously alter social coexistence and have a high potential for harm.
Letter written by:
Loreto Hoyos | Director Criminal Litigation Group | lhoyos@az.cl
