(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-11-29) Nieto Flores, Nubia Zulma
Electoral processes are one of the most important pillars of democracy. Transparent, fair and representative elections are the basis of the Western democracies. However, holding electoral processes does not necessarily guarantee the establishment and exercise of the democracy. Elections based on intimidation, threats, insecurity, fear, violence, harassment, fraud, vote buying, abuse, manipulation and exploitation of vulnerable conditions are threats to democracy and an expression of the exercise of corruption. Latin America in recent years has been characterized by adopting democratic governments. In recent decades, almost all countries in the region have managed to overthrow authoritarian, military and dictatorial governments. However, the democratic exercise of citizens in local, regional and national elections is often questioned due to the lack of integrity and transparency of the processes. In this context, this article aims to analyze the role of corruption in electoral processes in Latin America in the last decades. The hypothesis that guides this work is based on the assumption that holding elections does not necessarily guarantee the exercise of democracy, since corruption permeates electoral processes. The text uses qualitative and based on data provided by national and international institutions, analysis and case studies, global reports and journalistic notes, as well as historical sources. The text is divided into three sections. The first exposes some basic concepts of electoral democracy and the threat of corruption. The second presents the effects of corruption materialized in electoral fraud, vote buying, disappearance of ballot boxes, manipulation in digital systems, application of Artificial Intelligence, sponsorship of criminal groups towards a certain candidate, use of criminal forces to intimidate, murder, destabilize electoral processes. The third offers some examples of highly questioned electoral processes in Latin America, and finally some conclusions are made, leaving the door open to future studies that can contribute to reduce the risks of corruption in electoral processes in the Latin American region and help mature the young democracy.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-11-29) Sanhueza, Guillermo E.
Although corruption within prisons is not necessarily a new phenomenon, this article offers, through quantitative data from a survey (MQPL questionnaire adapted to Chile) applied in 2022 in 20 Chilean prisons (n = 1,159), an empirical view of it from the perspective of incarcerated individuals and offers an exploration of its predictive factors.
The perception of corruption was operationalized through the dependent variable “in this prison things move with money”, which was modeled through multiple linear regression, where various predictors were incorporated into the model, which was able to explain 32.5% of the variation in the perception of corruption. The independent variables negatively associated with corruption were the perception of good functioning of the prison, the existence of clear rules within the prison, the perception of receiving fair treatment and respect for rights and living in a concessioned prison (privately operated facility).
On the other hand, the predictors directly associated with a perception of greater corruption were the perception of a tense atmosphere in prison, abuse towards weaker inmates, and the perception of fear for one's own physical integrity. Implications of the findings are discussed to improve prisons.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2024-11-29) Carbajal, Álvaro
Corruption is a phenomenon deeply rooted in Peruvian republican history. Since the viceregal era, corruption scandals in the public apparatus have been recurrent. However, starting in the second half of the 2010s, when the international scandal known as “Lava Jato” was uncovered (from which Peruvian politics could not escape), corruption began to be used as an argument that triggered several presidential crises in Peru. Thus, various political control mechanisms, both in the Executive and the Legislative, were based on the fight against corruption to attack the rival power. In that sense, based on the qualitative analysis of the various documents presented, the arguments from both the Executive and Legislative Branches will be analyzed. These documents will be analyzed from the website of the Congress of the Republic of Peru. Finally, it is observed that corruption was used recurrently as an argument to delegitimize a State power in the midst of the fight between the government and Congress.