Odebrecht and Audiotapes: Can Peru's Democracy Move Forward?

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Abstract

In 2018, the deficiencies of Peru’s democracy were increasingly manifest. Investigators of the role of the Brazilian company Odebrecht in Peru showed that many political leaders, including every president elected since 1985, were complicit in campaign-finance violations (at a minimum). President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was also revealed to be guilty of conflict of interest (at a minimum). After an audiotape indicated that bribery attempts were made to secure Kuczynski’s survival of a 2017 impeachment attempt, Kuczynski resigned. Soon thereafter, a new scandal exploded: audiotapes revealed massive influence-peddling in Peru’s judiciary. Amid these scandals, can Peru’s accidental president, Martín Vizcarra, Kuczynski’s vice-president, survive? Can the new government shape and implement reforms that will reduce corruption? Or will cynicism and disgust prevail? These questions will be explored by the Workshop participants, all of whom have analyzed Peru’s social, economic, and political trends for many years.

Sub Track

• Political Institutions and Processes

Session Organizers

• Cynthia McClintock, George Washington University

• Cynthia A Sanborn, Universidad del Pacífico

Chairs

• Cynthia A Sanborn, Universidad del Pacífico

• Cynthia McClintock, George Washington University

Presenters

• Maxwell A Cameron, University of British Columbia

• Manuel A Glave Testino, Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo

• Maritza V Paredes Gonzales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

• Alberto Vergara Paniagua, Universidad del Pacífico