Corruption, Feature, Law & Justice, Politics

Corruption — 96% of Peruvians see government corruption as a serious problem

Protestors march in downtown Lima earlier this month to demand the resignation of all members of Congress and the Executive
Protestors march in downtown Lima earlier this month to demand the resignation of all members of Congress and the Executive. Source: Andina

Peruvians’ distrust of government institutions has increased over the past year, according to polling data released this week in the Global Corruption Barometer for Latin America and the Caribbean, published by Transparency International.

The survey, which provides the largest and most detailed polling data in the region, was taken between January and March this year in 18 countries. Of the 17,000 people polled, 53% perceived corruption had increased in the past year. In Peru, that perception is 65% and in Venezuela 87%.

In general, the majority believe corruption is getting worse and their government is doing a little to fight it.

Across the region, less than 30% trust in their government, their courts and the police.  That trust drops to 10% in Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama and Venezuela, where 90% of those polled said they have little or no trust in these institutions.

Only Barbados and Guyana escape this scathing criticism. In both countries, the majority of citizens trust in their government, the courts and the police.

On average, the institutions perceived to be the most corrupt are the Executive (53%) and Parliament (52%).   In Peru, the perception that all or most members of the Congress are corrupt is as high as 80%.

“Remember that it was a time [January-March 2019] marked by the debate on signing the agreement with Odebrecht and we witnessed the arrest of Keiko Fujimori, Alan Garcia’s unsuccessful attempt to seek asylum, the referendum, and the removal of the specialized team of district attorneys,” noted Samuel Rotta, deputy director at Proetica, the Peru chapter of Transparency International.

Corruption covers a wide field, from lack of political integrity during election seasons (buying of votes, threats over vote choices, and spreading of fake news), to bribery for legal processes and among lower income citizens for basic public services such as water, electricity, health and schooling.

Also, for the first time, the Barometer sheds light on sexual extortion, or sextortion, as one of the most significant forms of corruption based on gender and to which lower-income women are particularly vulnerable.

Despite this bleak data, there is a positive change in the survey.

Walter Alban, exeucutive director of Proetica, noted that in earlier years the survey has shown more than 80% of those polled were resigned to the situation. Now, 79% believe they can make a difference, that common citizens can help stop corruption, an uptick of 17%.

“People went out into the streets on New Year’s Eve and on the days that followed. Of course, there were other factors, but the sensation of being effective remains and it’s important,” Rotta said.  The protest was against the firing of the district attorney team in charge of the Odebrecht investigations, made on New Year’s Eve by then-Attorney General Pedro Chavarry in the hope people would be too busy partying to notice, but the late-night announcement triggered an immediate response and crowds flooded the streets around the Plaza San Martin.

This week, at the U.N. General Assembly, President Martin Vizcarra called for member nations to explore new and effective ways to fight corruption. In April last year, at the 8th Americas Summit held in Lima, the region’s countries made a commitment to 57 measures that would help reduce corruption. As the Global Corruption Report notes, the countries should be adopting and publicly reporting on their achievements so far.

The full report can be downloaded here.

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