The presidency of the Frente Amplio in 2005 generated high expectations in large part of Uruguayan society. Due to their “sensibility”, a shift towards the rights approach and a process of decriminalization was expected. In the beginning, the new government made substantial changes, although not without tension and brakes. Then, perhaps surprisingly, heavy-handed policies were increased. The "adolescents" were, among others, the recipients of the punitive turn, even though they had far from explaining crime and criminality. The present research intends to problematize these subjects studying the left-wing criminal policies in the case of the special juvenile justice system during the governments of the Frente Amplio (2005-2020) in Uruguay. It is about showing the “sensibilities” that guided the criminal public policies of the government party and the possible explanations for this. The research realizes a descriptive study based on the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative research techniques.El ascenso del Frente Amplio en el año 2005 a la presidencia del Uruguay generó grandes expectativas en buena parte de la sociedad uruguaya, que auguraba transformaciones sustantivas en el país. La sensibilidad de izquierdas del partido de gobierno anunciaba la incorporación del enfoque de derechos en la legislación nacional, el proceso judicial y las instituciones de ejecución de medidas, además de un amplio proceso de descriminalización y profundización en los problemas sociales y educativos. Al inicio del gobierno se realizaron cambios sustantivos, aunque no sin tensiones y frenos. Luego, paulatinamente se desarrolló una política de endurecimiento coercitivo, penal y policiaco, ante el crecimiento continuo de los principales indicadores de criminalidad (homicidios, rapiñas y hurtos). En este contexto, algunas adolescencias fueron receptoras del “giro punitivo progresista”, a pesar de que la evidencia disponible sostiene que las y los adolescentes están muy distantes de explicar el delito y la criminalidad nacional. Así las cosas, el presente texto se propone problematizar la política criminal progresista para el caso del sistema de responsabilidad penal adolescente durante los gobiernos del Frente Amplio (2005 – 2020) en Uruguay. Se trata de evidenciar las “sensibilidades” que guiaron las políticas públicas criminales del partido de gobierno y plantear una discusión acerca de los dilemas de las izquierdas con respecto a la seguridad pública. ==== The presidency of the Frente Amplio in 2005 generated high expectations in large part of Uruguayan society. Due to their “sensibility”, a shift towards the rights approach and a process of decriminalization was expected. In the beginning, the new government made substantial changes, although not without tension and brakes. Then, perhaps surprisingly, heavy-handed policies were increased. The "adolescents" were, among others, the recipients of the punitive turn, even though they had far from explaining crime and criminality. The present research intends to problematize these subjects studying the left-wing criminal policies in the case of the special juvenile justice system during the governments of the Frente Amplio (2005-2020) in Uruguay. It is about showing the “sensibilities” that guided the criminal public policies of the government party and the possible explanations for this. The research realizes a descriptive study based on the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative research techniques.