Why Latin America Is Finally Getting Tough on Corruption
Why Latin America Is Finally Getting Tough on Corruption
"Eliminating corruption altogether and jailing 100 percent of the perpetrators is almost impossible, but jailing one or two big names can also go a long way,” pointed out AS/COA’s Brian Winter.
In Brazil, Michel Temer's brief presidency inches closer to an ignominious finale amid allegations he took $5 million in bribes, the latest chapter in a massive, slow burn corruption scandal that has tainted virtually the entire political class.
Across the Andes, all three of Peru's presidents spanning 2001-2016 are under investigation for graft. One, Alejandro Toledo, a sometime lecturer at Stanford University accused of taking $20 million in kickbacks, is now fighting extradition from his Palo Alto home.
Elsewhere in Latin America, one high-level scandal after another has tainted current or recent presidents or vice-presidents in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Mexico, among others...
...In the past, Latin Americans often failed to make the connection between graft and shoddy government services. Provided politicians were effective administrators, electorates often tolerated – and sometimes even expected – that they would be on the take, an attitude summed up by the cynical Spanish refrain: "Roba pero hace obras" (He robs but he carries out public works).
Brian Winter, a Brazil expert and editor of the Americas Quarterly journal, adds: "What is different this time is the demographics. You have a middle class that outnumbers the poor in Latin America for the first time. They are better educated and no longer solely worried about hand-to-mouth issues. Many are also paying taxes for the first time and expect accountability"....
