Stopping the rot in public life
Corruption is undermining public faith in democracy in many Latin American countries. Brazil is trying to fight it—but could do much more
“EVERY one of those files is a scandal I am investigating,” says Oswaldo Silva, a senior prosecutor in Brasilia, waving his arm at the 97 fat folders on his shelves. In most cases he expects to find evidence of public money going astray, and to take the matter to court. But, on past performance, he expects that in about half of them, he will win the court case but fail to recover the missing money, nor see the guilty jailed.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Stopping the rot in public life”
From the September 16th 2000 edition
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