The Country of Broken Windows: Cleaning Our Streets as the First Step to Saving Our Lives

The article posits that Ecuador's cities, like broken mirrors reflecting a distorted reality, are suffering from a pervasive disorder that mirrors the "broken windows" theory. This theory, developed by sociologists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in 1982, suggests that visible signs of crime, anti-social behavior, and civil disorder, like unrepaired broken windows, create an urban environment that encourages further crime and decay.

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A broken window that is not repaired is a precise message: nobody is watching here, everything is permitted here. Nobody takes care of the small things, nor the valuable ones.

Ecuadorian cities are depicted as chaotic landscapes: beggars sleeping on cardboard, children living on the streets, debris-filled rooftops, sidewalk-clogging shops, polluting buses, and beaches littered with glass. The author criticizes citizens who demand security while actively contributing to this disorder through littering, occupying public spaces, and engaging in digital "dirt", plagiarism, insults, and fake news online.

The piece contrasts this with New York City's experience in the 1990s. Under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the city aggressively addressed minor offenses like graffiti, aggressive street vending, and windshield washing. This strategy, the article argues, sent a powerful message that order was being restored, leading to significant drops in homicides and robberies. It wasn't mere repression but a recovery of public space that fostered social order.

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When New York pursued graffiti artists, swept away street vendors, and eradicated windshield washers, it did not just reduce minor offenses; the message was profound: order has returned.

Ecuador, the author contends, is failing to grasp this connection. The country is described as a collection of open-air dumpsites, with unkempt houses, trash-filled roadsides, and stray dogs. This physical neglect is mirrored by the "digital trash" flooding social media, amplifying violence and spreading negativity. By normalizing this "dirt," Ecuadorians are paving the way for normalized crime and social decay. The article concludes by questioning how citizens can demand order when they have become accustomed to and perpetuate disorder.

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Because a clean city is a population that respects itself, and that collective self-esteem is a wall that prevents the criminal from entering.