Throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the most conservative political tendencies are re-emerging as part of an attempt to provide answers to a complex world through increasingly simple solutions.
According to the European Forum For Urban Safety, Spain is the European country with more police officers per inhabitant, with 486 for every 100.000 inhabitants. Spain also has the highest rate of prison inmates in Europe, 140 for every 100.000 inhabitants, according to the General Directorate for Penitentiary Institutions (June 2006).
Although the crime figures have not experienced a relevant increase, we are constantly faced with news of local authorities demanding tougher sanctions and more police officers. This request is a constant factor in Madrid, no doubt, to respond to an increasingly frightened society.
To what extent can security and fear be transmitted at the same time? The Claudio Moyano slope is a perfect place to reflect on this, given that, as a result of tourism, it is one of the safest places in Madrid.
They seek to generate a sensation of a maximum security response against an unknown threat by installing a (fake) military check point with signs warning people to be on the alert.
The authors hope that this initiative will encourage the public, regardless of their political ideology, to reflect on the deterioration that our environment may suffer as a result of an escalation of violence and security.