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1 1 (January 9, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govcgyz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' ri- SE .- & t January 9, 2018 Spotlight on Public Corruption in Latin America Many perceive Latin America to be in the midst of a growing corruption crisis. Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2016 found that respondents in most Latin American countries believed corruption was increasing. This perception is fueling civil society efforts to combat corrupt behavior and demand government accountability. Corruption is also likely to be a central theme in elections across the region in 2018. Many Latin American politicians are running on anti-corruption platforms, often abandoning traditional parties sullied by corruption allegations and embracing antiestablishment platforms. Numerous elected officials have been removed from office in the past decade due to corruption scandals. In 2015, Guatemalan President Otto Perez-Molina and his vice president were arrested and imprisoned for conducting multiple corruption scams. In Brazil, a sprawling corruption investigation under way since 2014 has implicated much of the political class, leading to the imprisonment of the president of the Chamber of Deputies and contributing to the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016. Perceptions of growing corruption may reflect a greater awareness of corrupt behavior rather than an increase in actual corruption. This heightened awareness may be due to the growing use of social media to report violations and inform the citizenry, as well as to greater scrutiny by domestic media and investigative reporters, international investors, and, in some cases, congressional bodies. Moreover, the region's growing middle class, with its rising expectations, seeks more from its politicians. Corruption in the judicial system can undermine the rule of law and heighten impunity, leading to more crime because of lax or absent enforcement. Transparency International's 2016 survey, in the 20 Latin American countries polled, found that the corruption taint is particularly acute for politicians, political parties, police, and other public servants; respondents deemed those groups all or most corrupt (see Figure 1). Citizens reported being most concerned about the use of public office for private gain (graft, influence peddling, extortion, bribe solicitation, money laundering, obstruction of justice, nepotism, or violation of political finance regulations). Corruption scandals affecting top-level politicians have touched every region of Latin America. Corruption charges tainted the second administration of Chilean President Michele Bachelet, whose son allegedly used his position to secure a $9.2 million bank loan. Former President of El Salvador Mauricio Funes (2009-2014) was found guilty of illicit enrichment in a Salvadoran court. Figure I. Latin American Respondents' Perceptions of Corrupt Groups and Institutions Public-sector corruption is often a prominent part of a larger corruption problem that handicaps Latin American growth through lost productivity and skewed incentives. It can erode public services, and many analysts increasingly see it as a cause of deepening inequality. In the 2016 CPI, nearly a third of all Latin American respondents said they had paid a bribe for a public service such as health care or education in the past 12 months. The range of corrupt practices is broad, and the types mentioned here have received recent attention. Several scandals reaching multiple countries in the region have underscored a sense of urgency and perhaps increased the viability of anti-corruption campaigns while also spawning protest and, in some cases, instability. In Mexico, for example, the costs of corruption have been estimated to reach as much as 5% of gross domestic product each year. Mexico's long-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party is now so linked with corruption that it is likely to be hobbled in the mid-2018 national elections. Some analysts maintain that state involvement in corruption has undermined Mexico's state and federal governments, where eight current and former state governors ae under investigation for corruption and allegations of vast enrichment schemes. Mexico never resolved the suspicion of official involvement in the 2014 disappearance of 43 students in the state of Guerrero. Mexican authorities arrested local government officials and local and national police for collaborating with a drug gang in the killings, but no explanation of the crime has been provided and an international investigation was thwarted. (For more, see CRS Report R42917, Mexico: Background and US Relations.) Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, in a landmark plea deal, admitted to paying $735 million in bribes to politicians and office holders throughout the region to secure public contracts over more than two decades. In December 2017, Ecuador's vice president, Jorge Glas, was K~:> rq\\ , qmmw' ggmm 's a X 11LULANJILiN,

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