Hope amid spate of Latin American corruption scandals

MONTEVIDEO: With huge new scandals rocking the political elite in Argentina and Peru, and several former Central American presidents in court, Latin America is once again being buffeted by a wave of corruption.

But experts say that despite the sense the region is suffering a recurring nightmare, there is reason to believe the judicial system is finally gaining the upper hand in the fight against graft.

In Central America, jailed former Salvadoran president Elias Antonio Saca recently admitted to diverting more than US$300mil (RM1.23bil) during his 2004-2009 term in office.

His successor Mauricio Funes is accused of similar crimes and has taken refuge in Nicaragua.

Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli was not so lucky – he was extradited in June from the United States to face charges in a raft of corruption cases.

From Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva down through the list of the last four Peruvian presidents, “there are a dozen ex-presidents in prison, on the run, involved, or dismissed” in similar corruption cases, says Peruvian lawyer Jose Ugaz, former head of the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International.

The scandals in Peru have not only ensnared presidents, but the judiciary too, after the broadcast of audio recordings in July.

“The relationship between money and politics is at the heart of the matter,” says Gaspard Estrada, head of the Observatory on Latin America at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris.

Stricter legal frameworks governing political donations are vital, he says.

“There should be limits to the donations of private persons and this should go hand in hand with a strict public funding.”