Rule of Law & Anti-Corruption Archives - Page 13 of 25

AQ Top 5 Corruption Busters: José Ugaz

This article is adapted from our 1st print issue of 2016. For an overview of our Top 5 Corruption Busters, click here. José Ugaz was just a few years out of law school in his native Peru when a client came to him with an unusual request: A judge was demanding $1,000 to settle a … Read more

How Students Turned the Tables on Corruption in Paraguay

Add Paraguay to the growing list of Latin American countries where citizen protests are successfully holding public officials accountable for alleged abuses of power. In the past month, a student-led response to revelations of corruption within Paraguay’s largest university has landed the institution’s highest official behind bars and disrupted the status quo in a country … Read more

A protest rally after the death of Rubén Espinosa

Dismissed as a Drug Crime? How Mexico’s “Old” Media Covered Ruben Espinosa’s Death

Hours after photojournalist Rubén Espinosa and four others were found dead in a Mexico City apartment on July 31, much of Mexico’s traditional media had settled on a theory: This was a run-of-the-mill drug crime. In a video newscast titled “They didn’t kill him because he was a journalist,” Luis Cárdenas López, a reporter for … Read more

No End in Sight for Brazil’s Petrobras Scandal

Brazil’s current political crisis began at a gas station in Brasília. When federal police raided a currency exchange booth in the station on March 17, 2014, they stumbled upon a network of political corruption that has cost state oil giant Petrobras at least $2 billion. Since then, more than 50 politicians have come under federal … Read more

UN Urges Renewed Effort to Combat Human Trafficking

Today, the UN Office of Drugs & Crime marked the first World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, an effort to raise awareness around the $150 billion global human trafficking industry. The event comes just days after the U.S. State Department drew criticism for its decision to remove Cuba from a list of countries that have … Read more

A Potential Turning Point for Gender Violence in Mexico

The often overlooked struggle to address violence against women in Mexico may have reached a turning point this week, after the country’s secretary of the interior approved “gender violence alerts” for 11 municipalities in Mexico state. The alerts, which some local governments have been requesting for several years, provide municipalities with federal funding and technical … Read more

The Unsettled Legacy of the Candelária Massacre

On this day in 1783, one of Latin America’s most significant figures, Simón Bolívar, was born in Caracas. While many in the region will celebrate the occasion, today also marks the anniversary of a more chilling episode in Latin American history. Shortly after midnight on July 24, 1993, nine hooded men, including several off-duty police officers, opened … Read more

Leaks Bring New Information about Surveillance in Latin America to Light

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff recently concluded her first state visit to the U.S. after abruptly canceling a trip scheduled for October 2013 due to allegations that the NSA had spied on her. While in the U.S., President Rousseff responded to questions about the spying issue, saying, “Some things have changed […] I believe President Obama.” … Read more

From Guatemala to Peru, Protests Sweep Across Latin America

In his 1982 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez spoke of the conflict and violence plaguing Latin America, including El Salvador’s 12 year civil war and Argentina’s Dirty War. “There have been five wars and seventeen military coups; there emerged a diabolic dictator who is carrying out, in God’s name, the first Latin American ethnocide … Read more

Monday Memo: Mexican Same-Sex Marriage—Haitian Deportation—U.S. and Venezuela Meeting—Nicaraguan Protest—ELN Leader Death

This week’s likely news stories: Dominican Republic set to deport individuals of Haitian descent; Mexican high court paves way for full marriage equality; U.S. and Venezuelan officials meet in Haiti, address strained relations; Nicaraguans protest Chinese-funded canal project; top ELN commander killed in Colombia Dominican Republic to Deport Dominicans of Haitian Descent: The Dominican Republic … Read more

Judge Finds Probable Cause for Murder Charge in Tamir Rice Death

In Thursday’s ruling, Judge Ronald Adrine found probable cause to prosecute Cleveland officer Timothy Loehmann with murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and dereliction of duty for the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The Cleveland municipal judge also announced grounds to prosecute Officer Frank Garmback, Loehmann’s partner, who was at the scene, with negligent homicide and … Read more

Monday Memo: Mexican Elections—G7 Climate Summit—EU-CELAC Summit—Argentine Debt—Honduras Protests

This week’s likely news stories: Mexico’s ruling party wins the congressional elections; Canada and Japan block a G7 statement on carbon emissions; Latin American officials to discuss Mercosur at EU-CELAC Summit; Argentina’s debt inflates after U.S. court ruling; protestors demand Honduran president’s resignation. Mexico’s Ruling Party to Maintain Majority in Lower House after Elections: Despite … Read more

Brazil’s Corruption Graveyard

At a secondhand bookstore in Brazil, I recently found an old copy of Graham Greene’s novella-turned-screenplay “The Third Man.” Set in the shadowy streets and sewers of post-World War II Vienna, a police investigation reveals that the leader of a crime ring has faked his death to evade police. A coffin is exhumed, a body … Read more

Is Brazil’s World Cup Next on the List?

The U.S. Justice Department accused more than a dozen people this week of being involved in a massive FIFA corruption scandal that spanned more than two decades. Several high-level officials were arrested in a luxury Zurich hotel Wednesday, including former Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (Brazilian Football Confederation—CBF) President José Maria Marin. “Our investigation revealed that … Read more