HomeNewsBriefPeru's Crusade Against Corruption Faces Severe Uphill Struggle
BRIEF

Peru's Crusade Against Corruption Faces Severe Uphill Struggle

ELITES AND CRIME / 8 FEB 2019 BY CAMILO CARRANZA EN

With four former presidents embroiled in corruption scandals, Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra described 2019 as the year of the fight against corruption and impunity. But in an unfortunate twist that was sadly predictable, an inquiry has been opened into Vizcarra's own dealings with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, potentially leaving his crusade dead on arrival.

The year had started brightly. On January 9, alongside Prime Minister César Villanueva and Justice Minister Vicente Zeballos, Vizcarra signed into law constitutional reforms which had been voted on by the Peruvian people in December 2018.

These include revamping the appointment of magistrates and prosecutors, halting the immediate reelection of lawmakers to Congress after a five-year term, and instituting regulations to government financing of political parties.

Vizcarra’s pledge to combat corruption in the country began in July 2018 when he proposed dismantling the former National Judiciary Council after scandalous reports revealed that members of the council had been involved in corrupt activities.

SEE ALSO: Peru’s Judicial Corruption Scandal, Explained

The measure, which was widely supported by the national congress, consequently paved the way for the creation of a new selection board, responsible for the selection, appointment, sanctioning and ratification of judges and prosecutors at all levels.

InSight Crime Analysis

When Vizcarra arrived to power, the reputation of the Peruvian presidency was in tatters. Former President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) is a fugitive from Interpol, living in the United States and fighting an extradition order on charges of having received $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht. Alan García, the two-time president (1985-1990, 2006-2011) and perennial political comeback king, is banned from leaving the country on suspicion of corruption in the building of Lima's metro, despite an aborted attempt to seek asylum at the Uruguayan embassy in November.

Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) stands charged with receiving at least $3 million from Odebrecht for his election campaign, at the behest of his wife, Nadine Heredia. Vizcarra's predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned in March 2018 after seemingly lying about previous business ties to the Brazilian firm as well as being accused of vote-buying.

And, for years, it has been rather common for embattled elites in Peru to receive either light sentences or no punishment at all. Such was the case in 2014, when more than 115 political candidates were linked and investigated for ties with drug trafficking, however, almost no one was convicted.

SEE ALSO: Odebrecht Scandal Takes Political Elites by Storm in Peru

The task facing Vizcarra was momentous, therefore. His actions in his first year of office seemed to highlight a commitment to combat corruption in a country, which ranks 105th out of 180, in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

But in January, allegations emerged against Vizcarra himself. A congressional oversight committee has opened an investigation into a possible link between a local company of whom Vizcarra was previously part-owner of and the Brazilian construction firm. The president has denied the allegations and has stated that “[he is] not afraid at all."

Despite the announcement of this investigation on January 16, a poll conducted since shows that Vizcarra maintained a 60 percent approval rating in the country.

Large street protests against the entire political spectrum were seen when Vizcarra took office. However, he seemed able to rally the population behind him, with almost 80 percent of Peruvians approving the constitutional reforms that he proposed last December.

This social pressure has undoubtedly allowed Vizcarra to take rapid strides and he seems keen on continuing this momentum in 2019. Certainly, his reforms, such as the creation of the JNJ and his fight to extradite fugitive officials back to Peru, are laudable.

However, one thing is clear, the scandal into Vizcarra's own dealings risks bringing him down in a country that is already fed up, and wrecking any real chance at reforming Peru's political system.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 29 JUN 2023

Acts of violence directly targeting government officials are more common in Mexico and Brazil than in other parts of the…

ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME / 2 JUN 2022

Peru – rich in biodiversity – is a hotspot for the wildlife trade. Reptiles, fish and birds are all trafficked…

ELITES AND CRIME / 3 NOV 2022

The trial of Genaro García Luna, Mexico's public security minister during the presidency of Felipe Calderón, is fast approaching.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…