Our editorial on Wednesday (South American turbulence) focused specifically on the political and economic problems of Brazil and Venezuela, as cause for concern in Guyana and Caricom as a whole. But the political and social unrest being experienced by two of our closest neighbours is also manifest elsewhere in Latin America. Inefficient public utilities, attacks on press freedom, human rights violations, corruption and violence are all seen as serious threats to democratic governance; people are becoming more vocal and governments are being forced to respond.
In Peru, over the weekend, there were violent protests against poor service and bill increases by an energy firm in a southern region, causing the intervention of the central government, led by the prime minister herself.
Since the start of 2015, 21 attacks against journalists have been registered in Guatemala and the murder of two journalists, early last week, has fanned concerns about political violence ahead of the September general elections.
Mexico is still reeling from the disappearance of 43 trainee teachers in the state of Guerrero last September. It is believed that the students were abducted by corrupt local police and handed over to a criminal gang for execution. The case sparked national and international outrage over criminal violence in Mexico and continuing violence in Guerrero has cast doubt over local government elections scheduled there in June.
This is not the first instance of alleged extrajudicial killings in Mexico since the launch of the so-called War on Drugs under the previous government of President Felipe Calderón. Now, his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, is facing growing public anger over the government’s handling of the abduction and the unabated violence, with questions increasingly being asked about the disconnect between the government’s stated commitment to the rule of law and the fact that the majority of crimes, ranging from corruption to human rights violations, appear to go largely unpunished.
In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff has suffered a damaging loss of credibility, with huge anti-government demonstrations last Sunday, prompted mainly by the ongoing Petrobras corruption scandal for which the president herself is being held accountable, but also encompassing her government’s handling of the current economic crisis and a range of governance issues.
On Monday, the public prosecutor formally charged the treasurer of the ruling Workers’ Party with corruption and another 26 people were charged in relation to the Petrobras case; on Wednesday, Ms Rousseff announced a series of anti-corruption measures.
In Chile, there have also been major protests against corruption, with two recent high-profile scandals, involving the previous government and the current one of President Michelle Bachelet proving to be particularly toxic for the political class as a whole. Ms Bachelet’s own standing has taken a serious hit, as her son and daughter-in-law have been accused of profiting from privileged information and influence trafficking.
Whilst President Rousseff is attempting to take corrective action, this may not be enough to arrest the dramatic decline in her popularity ratings or to change overnight the perception of entrenched corruption. Chile and President Bachelet, on the other hand, may be pointing a way forward for the region.
A week after the scandal involving Ms Bachelet’s son broke in a national magazine, he was fired; a few days later, he and his wife were forced to resign from Ms Bachelet’s Socialist Party, the leading party in the governing coalition. And when Ms Bachelet spoke publicly on the matter for the first time, she made no effort to defend her son, acknowledging her responsibility as president to work for “a more just and equitable nation.” Faced with widespread public indignation, President Bachelet sought not to dissemble or ignore the allegations about her son and daughter-in-law; instead, she confronted them and is allowing the law to take its course.
A recent focus by The Economist on corruption in Latin America has highlighted the fact that “two-thirds of [Latin American] countries come in the bottom half of Transparency International’s ‘corruption perceptions index,” with only Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay as exceptions. Chile may be regarded as an exception but the latest revelations indicate that there is no room for complacency there.
And lest we feel that none of this has anything to do with us, it should be pointed out that Guyana features on the map used in the article, which relies on data from Transparency International, as one of the countries ranked between 120th and 150th out of the 175 most corrupt countries in the world. Guyana is actually ranked 124th and we are not keeping good company.
But perhaps we can learn from the example of President Bachelet and Chile. Corruption can only function in the darkness. Accountability and adherence to the rule of law are critical in the fight against corruption. And public pressure, a free press and freedom of access to information are indispensable to creating a culture of transparency.
