Peru鈥檚 fight against corruption: 鈥楨ncouraging鈥� or 鈥榟orrible鈥�?
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Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
| Lima, Peru
For Gino Costa, a past member of Peru鈥檚 Congress and a former United Nations鈥� human rights official, Peru鈥檚 recent history of corruption has been 鈥渢errible and horrible.鈥�
But it has also been encouraging.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had all this corruption that has been so pervasive,鈥� Mr. Costa says. 鈥淏ut then there鈥檚 the encouraging part. ... We have had chief prosecutors do their work, pursuing cases all the way to the top; we have prosecuting teams that go on investigating when powerful politicians try to stop them.鈥� And of critical importance, he says, the Peruvian public supports those fighting to root out corruption.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onPeru has stood out in the region for its ability 鈥� and will 鈥� to prosecute high-level leaders for corruption. Can it persist?
Both the 鈥渢errible鈥� and 鈥渆ncouraging鈥� of Peru鈥檚 history of corruption are getting fresh attention in the wake of the December arrest and detention of former President Pedro Castillo, who tried to carry out a 鈥渟elf-coup鈥� and dissolve Congress. Mr. Castillo is now one of seven recent presidents who have either been imprisoned or investigated for graft.
Peru鈥檚 ability to pursue corruption cases and take down high officials has roots in everything from history and culture to the existence of an investigative press and the unintended use of past judicial reforms.
Now, many in and outside Peru are asking if its continuing ability to prosecute corruption cases, even when they implicate powers at the very top, has staying power.
鈥淲hat Peru is attempting 鈥� the prosecution of several ex-presidents at once for corruption 鈥� no other Latin American country has achieved before,鈥� says Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York.
And while he notes Peru鈥檚 judicial system 鈥渞eally has the legal teeth鈥� to successfully pursue those cases, the question is whether prosecutors can 鈥渟core a first big win鈥� quickly enough to 鈥渞enew the public鈥檚 faith鈥� in the rule of law.
A regional challenge
Many regional experts say Latin America is prone to above-average corruption, but they don鈥檛 think the number of high-profile corruption cases in Peru sets it significantly apart from its neighbors in terms of corruption levels. Indeed, several of the biggest corruption scandals of recent years, from Operation Car Wash to Odebrecht to the Panama Papers, reached across borders, implicating officials 鈥� including presidents 鈥� in numerous countries.
Revelations from the 鈥淟ava Jato鈥� or Car Wash case, which originated in Brazil in 2014, ended up staining officials in more than a half-dozen countries, including Peru.
鈥淪ince the wind down of the Lava Jato investigations in Brazil, Peru [became] one among a tiny handful of countries in Latin America where top officeholders who embezzle and bribe still face a serious possibility of investigation,鈥� says Mr. Freeman.
The chief prosecutor鈥檚 office gets some credit for successfully using strong laws, intended for attacking terrorism and organized crime, to pursue high-profile corruption cases.
鈥淧eru has been modernizing and toughening criminal law to better fight organized crime,鈥� Mr. Freeman says. 鈥淧rosecutors figured out that these same laws ... were useful for investigating politicians.鈥�
But from the perspective of Jos茅 Ugaz, a criminal lawyer who served as state鈥檚 attorney in the investigation into former President Alberto Fujimori, this ingenuity also underscores Peru鈥檚 corruption Achilles鈥� heel: While smart and courageous prosecutors and judges have been in the right place at the right time, the country鈥檚 institutions are not necessarily strong.
鈥淧eru鈥檚 successes really have to do with strong individual actors much more than they are an expression of strong and healthy institutions,鈥� Mr. Ugaz says.
In Peru during the Car Wash scandal, 鈥測ou saw a number of young prosecutors and young judges who were determined to pursue the case 鈥� and were backed up by a good attorney general,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it was not a sign of systemic strength. It was individual determination that could be squelched by a bad attorney general.鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 trust each other鈥�
Yet in another, ironic way, weak institutions may have played a direct role in past corruption investigation successes, others say. Ineffective political parties, a constitutionally weak presidency, and a deeply divided Congress, have together paved the way for prosecutorial successes, Mr. Costa says.
鈥淲hy was Peru able to put an ex-president in jail for 15 years when many other countries couldn鈥檛?鈥� he asks, referring to Mr. Fujimori. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really because of our weak political class and our weak political institutions,鈥� he says, noting that in a number of neighboring countries, stronger political institutions have been more successful at controlling a nominally independent judiciary.
For example, in places like Colombia and Argentina, Mr. Costa says political leadership 鈥� including the executive branch, Congress, and political parties 鈥� is stronger and has maintained more control of the country鈥檚 institutions. 鈥淭he downside of that,鈥� he says, 鈥渋s that they also have tighter control of the judicial institutions like the prosecutors.鈥�
Trust 鈥� or a lack thereof 鈥� also plays into the hands of Peru鈥檚 prosecutors, Mr. Costa says.
鈥淎 trait of Peruvians is that we don鈥檛 trust each other, especially among the elites, and that, in a way, is a positive for the independence and functioning of the prosecutor鈥檚 office,鈥� he says. Divided business and political elites are more likely to enjoy the prospect of seeing rivals prosecuted, he says, than to circle the wagons in common defense.
To underscore that point, Mr. Freeman of CFR points to Guatemala, where in recent years investigators pursued multiple high-profile corruption cases against important politicians.
鈥淎t one point the progress in Guatemala was even more surprising than what鈥檚 going on in Peru,鈥� says Mr. Freeman, whose work focuses on corruption and the rule of law. But then, he says, unity among Guatemalan elites kicked in.
鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 as distrustful of each other [as in Peru], and as soon as the [attorney general] started implicating the sons of the president, they banded together and said, 鈥楾his has to stop,鈥欌�� he says.
鈥淎nd with that, the days of the independent judiciary were basically over.鈥�
Are investigations enough?
Still, despite Peru鈥檚 successes, some corruption watchdogs and experts express growing concerns that slow-moving investigations and the evident failure of past corruption convictions to change political leaders鈥� behavior are causing the public to lose faith in the ability of institutions to stop corruption.
鈥淭he long line of accused and disgraced public officials, right up to presidents, has demonstrated that there are no 鈥榠苍迟辞肠补产濒别蝉鈥� [untouchables], and that has encouraged people,鈥� says Mr. Freeman. 鈥淏ut then elected officials continue to rob 鈥� and the result is that faith in the impact [of corruption investigations] has worn thin,鈥� he says.
But as frustrations among the populace grow, Gustavo Gorriti, head of the investigative news website IDL-Reporteros in Lima, says Peruvians are increasingly relying on independent, investigative media outlets to keep them informed. In some cases it鈥檚 inspiring public action.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone can say whether Peru will go forward or backward on corruption at this point,鈥� says Mr. Gorriti, whose website has been a key source of information on a range of public officials in recent years.
鈥淲e published things proving the corruption of the current attorney general, and nothing happened,鈥� Mr. Gorriti says, referring to a February report that revealed that the attorney general shuttered a drug-trafficking investigation into her sister, who is a judge.
But then recently when the website ran a video documenting the killings of protesters by police forces, the supportive public response was overwhelming. The video has been cited widely by political leaders and street protesters alike.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still a wait-and-see moment,鈥� he says, but 鈥渢he forces of democracy that I thought were comatose are waking up.鈥�
