[Global corruption report 2003] South america

Abstract

"South America has been racked in recent months by economic crisis, social unrest and popular rejection of the region’s political leaders. From Argentina to Paraguay, Venezuela and Peru, angry protesters have poured into the streets to vent their frustration, and the stability of several nations appears in peril. The persistent scourge of corruption in South America has nourished the roots of this discontent. More than a decade after the transition to democracy planted hopes of reform, the region continues to be preyed upon by networks of elites who abuse their positions for illicit gain. The very institutions charged with preventing and fighting corruption are too weak to do so, or compromised by the influence of the transgressors themselves. As Transparency International’s 2002 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) so vividly reflects, respondents view South America as one of the most – if not the most – corruption-plagued regions in the world. Graft has contributed to the economic problems of the continent by stunting productivity and robbing it of already scarce financial resources. But corruption’s malign effect goes deeper: amid the present economic crisis, continuing revelations of government corruption have eroded the credibility of government institutions, reform programmes and the already fragile public trust in the political process itself. Recent surveys reveal two ominous and interrelated trends: South Americans believe that corruption is getting worse, and they are growing more and more dissatisfied with democracy. Nevertheless, the persistence of corruption in South America has prompted and strengthened efforts to fight it. There are currently hundreds of investigations under way into the activities of Peru’s former president, Alberto Fujimori, and his intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, while in Bolivia a former president and several other former officials are under investigation for defrauding the country of millions of dollars. Yet leadership changes in both countries have thrown the continuity of their reform programmes into question.'