Prosecutors, Voters, and the Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America
Prosecutors, Voters, and the Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America
Paula Muñoz Chirinos, Universidad del PacÃfico, Peru
Nara Pavão, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil
Viviana Baraybar Hidalgo, University of Oxford
Lava Jato, a transnational bribery case that started in Brazil and spread throughout Latin America, upended elections and collapsed governments. Why did the investigation gain momentum in some countries but not others? The book traces reforms that enhanced prosecutors' capacity to combat white-collar crime and shows that Lava Jato became a full-blown anti-corruption crusade where reforms were coupled with the creation of aggressive taskforces. For some, prosecutors' unconventional methods were necessary and justified. Others saw dangerous affronts to due process and democracy. Given these controversies, how did voters react to a once-in-a-generation attempt to clean politics? Can prosecutors trigger hope, conveying a message of possible regeneration? Or does aggressive prosecution erode the tacit consensus around the merits of anti-corruption? Prosecutors, Voters and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America is a study of the impact of accountability through criminalization, one that dissects the drivers and dilemmas of resolute transparency efforts.
- Provides a comprehensive analysis of the nature and dynamics of anti-corruption investigations in five Latin American countries
- First comparative, multimethod study of public reactions to large scale anti-corruption efforts
- Offers a rich account of the transformation of prosecutorial institutions in Latin America
Reviews & endorsements
‘Through a masterful, multi-method analysis of the origins and effects of the Lava Jato prosecutions in Latin America, this book demonstrates that institutional reforms are necessary but not sufficient to generate anti-corruption crusades, and that the decisions made by judges and prosecutors in the investigatory process are crucial to their ultimate success or failure.’ Lisa Hilbink, University of Minnesota
‘Anyone interested in how we combat or control political corruption should read Prosecutors, Voters, and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America! The book is a tour-de-force analysis of both the institutional foundations of a prosecutor-driven anticorruption crusade and the downstream effects of the crusade’s success on public opinion. Paradoxically, rather than enhancing trust in institutions, the successful exposure and punishment of grand political corruption in Latin America increased political cynicism and eventually transformed corruption from a valence issue into a deeply politicized lightning rod of polarization. The book should appeal to a much broader audience than Latin American politics or judicial politics specialists as it helps us understand not only the highly consequential case of Lava Jato and the struggle to uphold the rule of law, but also the dynamics of horizontal accountability and the vagaries of trust in democratic institutions.’ Maria Popova, McGill University
‘Lava Jato was perhaps the most important political event of the past decade in Brazil and in much of Latin America. While the story has been told and retold by journalists and pundits, Prosecutors, Voters, and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America stands apart for its systematic and rigorous comparative approach. The authors' offer us new and nuanced insights into how and why prosecutors in some countries were able to leverage previous legal reforms and made tactical decisions that enabled them to successfully carry out their ambitious investigative efforts.’ Cesar Zucco, Fundação Getulio Vargas
‘The book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the conditions under which the prosecution of political corruption succeeds, particularly in countries with young democracies.’ Azul A. Aguiar-Aguilar, Perspectives on Politics
Product details
July 2024Paperback
9781009329804
324 pages
229 × 152 × 17 mm
0.436kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction: anti-Corruption crusades
- Part I. Causes:
- 2. The drivers of prosecutorial zeal: institutional change and three 'Moments' (with stories from Brazil, Italy and Beyond)
- 3. Lava Jato in Peru: taking on the political and judicial establishments
- 4. One crusade and two failed inquiries: Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico
- Part II. Public:
- 5. Fighting corruption, curbing cynicism? Crusades, emotions and the future of politics
- 6. Of cockroaches and superheroes: Talking about Lava Jato in Brazil and Peru
- 7. Is prosecutorial zeal what partisans make of it? Survey evidence from Brazil
- 8. Prosecutorial Trade-Offs and the precarity of hope: Survey evidence from Peru
- Part III. Conclusions:
- 9. Theoretical lessons and a normative assessment
- Bibliography
- Index.
