In recent years, Latin America has been in the world’s spotlight for several corruption cases. Currently, there is a large mobilization of the population to demand more equity, justice and transparency, despite this, a percentage of the investigations that are open today are of presidents and members of governments, some of them re-elected after suspicions and investigations had already arisen.
The corruption that operates in all sectors has recently come to light in the form of different scandals involving politicians and businessmen. According to data from Transparency International in countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil, among others, these frequently involve extortion, bribery and increased public perception of officials guided by private interests.
Odebrecht: the corruption network in Latin America
The corruption scandals at Brazilian construction company Odebrecht transcend borders. The investigations began with Operation ‘Java Lato’, or car wash, and soon revealed irregularities in construction projects in different areas of Latin America.
Marcelo Odebrecht, the company’s CEO, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after it was proven that the company had paid US$788 million in bribes to carry out more than 100 construction projects in 12 countries, not only in Latin America but also in Mozambique and Angola in Africa.
Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer for Latin America and the Caribbean
Transparency International’s 2019 report is based on a survey of more than 17,000 citizens in 18 countries. The study is the most comprehensive on the subject in the region, and it highlights how corruption can complicate the implementation of public services, economic growth and even deprive citizens of their human rights.
The Global Corruption Barometer 2019 reveals that one in five people had paid a bribe, in the last 12 months, to access public services such as courts, identity documents, police, schools or health care. Thirty-three per cent of people said they were asked to pay for the service and 20% paid because they knew it was expected. In addition, 21% agreed to bribes to obtain documentation more quickly.
Venezuela is the country with the highest percentage of perceived corruption in the region, with 87% of citizens saying that the level of corruption has increased. In addition to being the most corrupt country according to this index, the South American nation ranks among the last 15 countries in the world on Transparency International’s list.
Venezuela is a country of interest in the report because of the humanitarian crisis it is experiencing “in part as a result of unprecedented levels of major corruption and embezzlement,” the dossier notes.
The document also reports that “over 20 countries have opened judicial investigations into the alleged misuse of Venezuelan funds.” According to the data handled by the organization Transparency International of the Permanent Commission of the Controller’s Office of the Venezuelan National Assembly, “approximately US$400 billion was embezzled under presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.”
Other significant figures added to the 2019 report expose sexual extortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the main victims are women. According to the results, the organization indicates that 30% of citizens in Barbados and 23% in Guatemala experienced sexual extortion to access public services.
Corruption: investigations into presidents and former presidents
In Ecuador, Rafael Correa faces an investigation for allegedly receiving bribes to finance his 2013 election campaign. More than 20 people are being investigated for corruption related to Correa’s administration.
In 2017, Correa’s former vice president, Jorge Glas, was sentenced to six years in prison for bribes related to Odebrecht in exchange for government contracts. The former president intended to run again, but in 2018 a referendum was approved to prevent people under investigation for corruption from accessing public office.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is being investigated for a series of cases involving bribes for government projects in Argentina. In October 2019, the former president won the country’s vice presidency by accompanying Alberto Fernández to the presidency, despite the alleged corruption implications. Apparently, the population is more concerned about the economic problems and inflation of the South American nation.
Former President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva was released from prison in late 2019 after spending 19 months in jail for corruption. The Brazilian is also being prosecuted for other cases. In November, a sentence was ratified that sentenced Lula to 17 years in prison, but it continues to be widely accepted by the population.
Michel Temer was arrested in 2019 for a corruption investigation, in a scandal that involves politicians from all over the country. In 2016 Dilma Rousseff was removed from office for violating fiscal rules by altering the budget deficit, the former president is also being investigated for alleged bribery by the oil company Petrobras, diversion and laundering of public funds.
Peru has also been plagued by corruption scandals in recent years. Starting with Alan García, who twice was in charge of the country and died by suicide in April 2019, just before being arrested for a corruption case involving Odebrecht. Alberto Fujimori is another bribe-related case, but his 25-year prison sentence was for manslaughter, aggravated kidnapping and grievous bodily harm.
Alejandro Toledo became the first former president to be denounced for the case of the construction company Odebrecht, for bidding awards. Ollanta Humala and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski are also former presidents of Peru currently under investigation for money laundering.
In El Salvador, the last three presidents, from 1999 to 2014, have been brought to justice for illicit enrichment, embezzlement and money laundering. Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was imprisoned for almost three years for money laundering, while Otto Pérez Molina was removed from office in 2015 and subsequently arrested along with the country’s vice president for bribery of government concessions, illegal financing of his campaigns and diversion of public funds.
Corruption in Venezuela with international investigations
The only president ever convicted of a corruption case in Venezuela was Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1993, but there have been countless complaints in the country. In recent years, at least 20 countries have opened more than 50 investigations into corruption involving Venezuelan money, according to data handled by Transparency International.
The United States is the country with the highest number of investigations into Venezuela. “At least 19 judicial proceedings have been carried out in Washington, representing more than US$5.7 billion,” noted Transparencia Venezuela. Other countries with open processes for money laundering and embezzlement of funds from Venezuela are Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, and Mexico, among others.
One of the most recent scandals in Venezuela involves the CLAP boxes (government-subsidized food). According to journalistic investigations by Armando.info and the National Assembly, some officials and businessmen benefited from millionaire deals. The United States sanctioned individuals and companies for bribes to receive CLAP-related contracts, while in Colombia there is an investigation for non-compliance with health requirements and corruption.
In late 2019, the scandal hit some opposition parliamentarians when published documents and reports by Armando.info revealed that these deputies allegedly received payments to intercede for the ones under investigation in international instances. The parliamentarians who claimed their innocence were removed from their political parties at the end of the year and in January 2020 participated in the National Assembly’s swearing-in ceremony promoted by deputies from the governing party.
Justice and Latin American movements
Recent investigations in some of the countries have made progress and many have been convicted of corruption cases, but not all nations have justice systems independent of government, which promotes impunity and makes it difficult to initiate and complete proceedings in a transparent manner.
The mobilizations in Latin America increasingly demand fairer governments, but a mentality still persists, in a sector of the population, where the diversion of capital is justified or corruption is diminished if these governments implement social plans.
Image credit: Pasja1000