Prosecutors, Voters and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America: The Case of Lava Jato

Description

Lava Jato, a transnational bribery case that started in Brazil and spread throughout Latin America, upended elections and collapsed governments. Why did the investigation gain momentum in some countries but not others? The book traces reforms that enhanced prosecutors' capacity to combat white-collar crime and shows that Lava Jato became a full-blown anti-corruption crusade where reforms were coupled with the creation of aggressive taskforces. For some, prosecutors' unconventional methods were necessary and justified. Others saw dangerous affronts to due process and democracy. Given these controversies, how did voters react to a once-in-a-generation attempt to clean politics? Can prosecutors trigger hope, conveying a message of possible regeneration? Or does aggressive prosecution erode the tacit consensus around the merits of anti-corruption? Prosecutors, Voters and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America is a study of the impact of accountability through criminalization, one that dissects the drivers and dilemmas of resolute transparency efforts.

'Through a masterful, multi-method analysis of the origins and effects of the Lava Jato prosecutions in Latin America, this book demonstrates that institutional reforms are necessary but not sufficient to generate anti-corruption crusades, and that the decisions made by judges and prosecutors in the investigatory process are crucial to their ultimate success or failure.' Lisa Hilbink, University of Minnesota 'Anyone interested in how we combat or control political corruption should read Prosecutors, Voters, and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America! The book is a tour-de-force analysis of both the institutional foundations of a prosecutor-driven anticorruption crusade and the downstream effects of the crusade's success on public opinion. Paradoxically, rather than enhancing trust in institutions, the successful exposure and punishment of grand political corruption in Latin America increased political cynicism and eventually transformed corruption from a valence issue into a deeply politicized lightning rod of polarization. The book should appeal to a much broader audience than Latin American politics or judicial politics specialists as it helps us understand not only the highly consequential case of Lava Jato and the struggle to uphold the rule of law, but also the dynamics of horizontal accountability and the vagaries of trust in democratic institutions.' Maria Popova, McGill University 'Lava Jato was perhaps the most important political event of the past decade in Brazil and in much of Latin America. While the story has been told and retold by journalists and pundits, Prosecutors, Voters, and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America stands apart for its systematic and rigorous comparative approach. The authors' offer us new and nuanced insights into how and why prosecutors in some countries were able to leverage previous legal reforms and made tactical decisions that enabled them to successfully carry out their ambitious investigative efforts.' Cesar Zucco, Fundacao Getulio Vargas