Removing Gascon would be an attack on democracy in California

In November 2020, Angelenos elected George Gascon as Los Angeles County District Attorney. They are tired of so much police abuse and lack of justice; At the same time, they liked that the Hispanic candidate promised them reform of the justice system, which so far has done nothing but imprison and punish people, mostly Hispanics, African Americans, and low-income people.

It is important to remember that as yet there is no link between incarceration and excessive punishment and low levels of crime in society. In fact, what has been done with harsher sentences and the multiplication of new laws has led to an increase in the number of minorities in prisons; and at the same time there has been an explosion in the prison industry, which sees prisoners as more profitable numbers than people who need to be reformed so they can reintegrate into society.

On the other hand, given that Trump supporters are funding and directing the impeachment campaign against Gascon, it is not an exaggeration to say that there are racist intentions.

This system began in the 1980s when there were more or less 30,000 inmates in California. But when punishments began to increase and sentences multiplied, by the end of the 90s there were already 180,000 prisoners, an increase of 600%. Coincidentally, most of the prisoners were Hispanic and African American.

It was in the 1980s that the state built nine prisons in less than six years, and in the 1990s another 12. jails its population, and Latino surnames already make up the majority in those prisons.

Incidentally, in his book Are prisons obsolete?Angela Davis, one of the most acclaimed civil rights activists, writers and scholars, emphasizes that mass incarceration in communities of color makes youth in low-income Hispanic and African American neighborhoods more likely to end up in jail. to get a decent education.

That’s why in November 2020, Angelenos said enough is enough and they bet on the new reforms of Gascon, who is trying not only to control crime, but also to prevent those sentences that have been multiplied even for stealing pizza to eat or smoke a cigarette. marijuana.

Unfortunately, some conservative groups, Republicans and those who profit from the lives of prisoners and long sentences, have poured millions of dollars into trying to remove the prosecutor. They want the residents to believe that if the sentences are commuted, Angelenos’ safety will be in jeopardy; They even took advantage of the pain of some relatives of victims of violence, who were urged to directly accuse the prosecutor of the crime that claimed the life of their relative.

We must keep in mind that Gascon has only been in power for 18 months, and efforts to remove him began from the first day he took office; Moreover, this is already the second attempt to get rid of him, because the first time they failed to collect signatures for his dismissal. Given this point, we cannot say that these efforts are legitimate or for the safety of Angelenos; Either way, it’s for the safety of those Republicans who want to continue to profit from the justice system at the expense of our youth’s lives.

On the other hand, given that Trump supporters are funding and directing the impeachment campaign against Gascon, it is not an exaggeration to say that there are racist intentions.

We cannot allow a small group of millionaires with extremist views to change the will of the majority of Angelino residents who voted for Gascon. If they succeed, it will be a failure in our democratic process, and we will move to a plutocratic system where the will of the few with big money prevails over the decision of the majority (53%), which in November 2020 voted for the reform of the justice system.

Agustin Durand is the editor of Metro for the Los Angeles newspaper La Opinion.