The Argentine government plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility for minors. A reform bill to the juvenile justice law is set to be debated in parliament this Thursday. Lawyer and criminologist Claudia Cesaroni explained the core of the debate: the issue is not whether a 12 or 13-year-old can be held responsible for a crime, but what kind of response should be given. "We are not saying that a 13 or 14-year-old involved in a serious incident should just be sent home with a pat on the back to play with his PlayStation. No, you have to do things with that child, with that teenager, outside the criminal justice system," she emphasized. Cesaroni also noted that lowering the age of criminal responsibility is a hallmark of right-wing governments, particularly that of Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. She compared this policy to "an offering to the kids in the Roman circus," as if adolescents are responsible for the fundamental problems of Argentines.
