In Argentina, political candidates cancelled their last rallies as the death of an 11-year-old girl who sustained injuries during a robbery in Lanús, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires made national headlines. This put the spotlight back on crime and insecurity in the Latin American country, ahead of the national primaries on Sunday.
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The girl, later identified as Morena Rodriguez was on her way to school at around 7.30 a.m. The robbery occurred on Molinedo street, on Rodriguez's route to her school, Escuela Alma Fuerta, in Lanús, which neighbours the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
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Two thieves later identified through security footage, tried to steal her bag and personal items. During the motorbike ambush, Rodriguez, the thieves struck her. Her head hit the pavement, where she remained unconscious.
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Neighbours immediately intervened, and called paramedics. Besides locals, a bus driver, parents taking their children to school, and a street sweeper all immediately stopped to offer her aid. She suffered convulsions and resuscitated local paramedics. She would later die at a hospital in Lanús, confirmed by doctors and Lanús' security minister Diego Kravetz.
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Police confirmed that they identified one 14-year-old through security footage and arrested him. He confessed to the murder in custody. The search for the second suspect was still on, police added.
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Morena Rodriguez's death led to protests in Lanús, which spread across Argentina. Political campaigns for the PASO primaries which had been in full swing halted. Crime, law and order are now at the forefront of the discussion.
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Axel Kicillof, who is up for re-election as Buenos Aires province governor, under which Lanús falls paused his campaign. Lanús's own mayor, Néstor Grindetti who was contesting against Kicillof followed suit.
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Economy minister Sergio Massa, the presidential hopeful for the ruling party also called off his Thursday closing rally. His opponents for the presidential seat, Buenos Aires' mayor, Horacio Larreta and former security minister Patricia Bullrich did the same, as Argentina took to the streets to grieve.
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Voting is mandatory in Argentina's primaries, but for the moment, politics stopped. Rodriguez's death headlined all major newspapers and news channels. News and updates on her continued receiving immediate and continuous coverage. Her killing put the spotlight back on law and order in a political campaign which had so far, centred around the country's precarious economic situation, with annual inflation of more than 100%.
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Lanús locals criticised emergency services as well, alleging that it took ambulances over 40 minutes to reach the spot, which could have been crucial to saving the girl's life. Crime and security became the top concern for voters, and many took to the streets to demand greater security presence and improvement in state services, as well as the immediate arrest of the suspects.
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That law and order are now the centrepiece issue for voters worked out well for the new presidential candidate Bullrich who has made hard-on-crime the core of her campaign, as former security minister. “We can’t keep living with so much anguish and fear,” Bullrich said in the statement on social media.
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As Argentina now demands answers from its leaders on law and order, the final word belongs to Buenos Aires' mayor, Horacio Larreta who wrote,
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“There are no words for so much pain,”
