Corruption and the current Political Turmoil in Latin America

Latin American Studies presents: a lecture by our LAS Prof. Patricio Silva, titled: “Corruption and the current Political Turmoil in Latin America: Is there a Way out?”

In recent years, corruption has acquired epidemic proportion in most Latin American countries. From Mexico to Brazil, from Guatemala to Argentina, several political leaders and high-ranking state officials have been accused and judged for their corrupted practices. In this lecture Prof. Patricio Silva will provide a general diagnose of this state of affairs regarding the phenomenon of political corruption in the region, and its impact in the legitimacy of the current Latin American democracies. To what extend have accusations of corruption became a political weapon in the ideological struggle taking place in the region? Is there a ‘culture of corruption’ in Latin America? What is the role for institutions to control the further diffusion of corruptive practices? Is there a role for the international community in the fight against corruption in Latin America?

Prof. Patricio Silva is professor of contemporary Latin American history at Leiden University. He is the author of Public Probity and Corruption in Chile. (Routledge, forthcoming).

For more information: llacc@bb.leidenuniv.nl.