The Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillofescaped once again from the cameras and avoided taking a concrete position on the new Juvenile Criminal Regime and described the discussion about crime committed by minors as “marketing,” during an interview granted to C5N.
When asked about the debate, the governor stated that these are “marketing discussions” that, he claimed, are raised “without solving the problems” and “without seeking the realities.”
“They are marketing discussions, without solving the problems, without seeking the realities. That’s why I believe that yes, there are many discussions that need to be had with much greater depth and they need to be in favor of real issues,” Kicillof expressed. However, the Kirchnerist governor did not specify what the State's response should be to crimes committed by adolescents nor did he develop a concrete alternative to the new regime during his response.
The statement comes amid the dispute over the implementation of the new Juvenile Criminal Regime, which reduced the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14 years. In the province of Buenos Aires, Judge Marta Elba Pascual even suspended its application for 60 days and, as revealed by Eduardo Feinmann, she would have privately acknowledged that she acted at the request of Kicillof and Peronist leader Mariano Cascallares.
In the face of one of the main security discussions of recent weeks, in which he is cited by one of the main protagonists of the debate as responsible, Kicillof focused his response on questioning the way the debate is publicly framed.
The judge who suspended the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility in PBA allegedly acted on Kicillof's orders
The governor spoke of “marketing,” called for a discussion with “greater depth,” and asked to focus on “real issues,” but did not concretely explain what response he considers appropriate for a 14 or 15-year-old who commits theft, homicide, or another serious crime.
This stance contrasts with the reform promoted at the national level, which established a differentiated regime for minors and reduced the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14 years. The new scheme promoted by the government of Javier Milei does not equate adolescents with adults: it includes specific facilities, alternative measures to detention, educational and reintegration programs, and a differentiated maximum penalty.
