Latin America: Corruption Laws Ineffective

Brazil makes progress against corruption. Will Mexico be next?

BY JOACHIM BAMRUD

As Brazil – Latin America’s largest economy -- has made significant progress in fighting corruption, experts hope Mexico will be the next major country to see improvements.

“The effect of the current prosecutions on the way business is done in Brazil is real and significant,” says Matteson Ellis, a Washington, DC-based member of Miller & Chevalier, which just published a new survey on Latin American corruption showing that the effectiveness of anti-corruption laws is generally perceived negatively in the region, with 77 percent of respondents indicatating the laws in their country are ineffective.

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Andre Esteves, the founder and former CEO of BTG Pactual, will stand trial for obstruction of justice in connection with a widespread probe into corruption at state oil company Petrobras, Reuters reported July 29.

Meanwhile, according to a prosecution document revealed last week by Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo, Lula participated actively in the Petrobras corruption scheme, which tied contracts with the oil giant to bribes.

“There is evidence that Lula ...

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Keywords: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Corruption, Dominican Republic, FCPA, Guatemala, Mexico, Miller & Chevalier, Venezuela

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