In the 2010s, corruption investigations dominated news headlines in Latin America, from Lava Jato in Brazil to La Línea in Guatemala. Nowadays, prosecutors, activists and journalists across the region continue their work of holding powerful politicians and business leaders to account, but they face a more difficult environment. That’s the conclusion of the fifth edition of the Capacity to Combat Corruption (CCC) Index, produced by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas and Control Risks. In the episode, Geert Aalbers, a partner at Control Risks, explores some of the reasons for this. Aalbers explains why countries like Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica continue to rank high on the index and describes how Panama and the Dominican Republic improved their scores. He also discusses the delicate status of anti-corruption efforts in Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala.
Listen to this episode and subscribe to The Americas Quarterly Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google and other platforms
Guests:
Geert Aalbers is a partner at Control Risks, an international risk consultancy. He is based in São Paulo.
Brian Winter is the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly.
Suggested reading:
A Tough Year for Anti-Corruption by Geert Aalbers, Brian Winter and Emilie Sweigart
Seven Decades After Guatemala Coup, Bernardo Arévalo Sees a Dramatic Rise by Will Freeman
How Lava Jato Died – And What Comes Next by Celso Rocha de Barros
