MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine gov't wants stiffer Penal Code

This reform ”will bring order where barbarism once reigned, Adorni and Bullrich pointed out

Argentina's Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni and outgoing Security Minister Patricia Bullrich on Monday announced the Libertarian government's initiative to submit a bill to Congress to update the Penal Code, providing for more stringent penalties and fewer concessions to convicted offenders.

Unlike the United States, Argentina has one penal code for the entire country; each province allowed only to legislate on procedural matters.

President Javier Milei's administration will send the bill to Congress “in the coming days,” both officials noted. The proposed reform contemplates aggravated penalties for offenses like homicide, robbery, drug trafficking, child pornography, and human trafficking.

The reform seeks to overturn the current reality where criminals, rapists, and murderers are favored, Bullrich explained. She claimed that the new Code would lead to 82% of crimes resulting in effective imprisonment by raising the minimum sentences to prevent early release.

The intended amendments would include actual lifelong incarceration for crimes like aggravated homicide and suppress the statute of limitations for serious crimes like sexual abuse and aggravated homicide.

It also features the crime of reckless driving while strengthening the concept of legitimate self-defense, stating that the presumption of innocence will always favor the attacked person. Additionally, victims would have the right to intervene at all times during the process.

The Libertarian reform also broadens the concept of “fulfillment of duty” to protect members of security forces when acting within the bounds of the law and the constitution, preventing them from being wrongly charged.

Adorni highlighted that greater punishment would be contemplated for politicians who commit crimes while in public office. He also praised the so-called “Bullrich Doctrine,” stating it came “to put an end to the anarchic regime that tied the hands of the forces of order” and criticized the current Penal Code as being “tailored to delinquents,” with insufficient sentences and a “revolving door” that contributes to crime.

When Bullrich “took office as minister, Argentina was mired in a veritable bloodbath, the piqueteros owned the streets, and cities like Rosario were free zones for narcoterrorists,” Adorni underlined.

The government confirmed that the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility is still on the agenda. While initially planned to be submitted separately, the Justice Ministry indicated that the bill “completes the procedural and substantive reforms of the penal system, which include the implementation of the Accusatory System and the lowering of the age of imputability.” Bullrich previously mentioned that authorities were seeking to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years.

In Adorni's words, the initiative would mark “the end of the Zaffaroni doctrine,” where the perpetrator became the victim. It is known as such after former Supreme Court Justice Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, who was notorious for leaning in favor of defendants rather than their victims.