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Video: Anti-Corruption Reforms after COVID-19 – A Window of Opportunity?

AS/COA’s Anti-Corruption Working Group convened a panel of experts from around the region to discuss whether the pandemic could put Latin America in a better position to pass anti-corruption reforms.

Speakers:

  • Eduardo Engel, Professor, Universidad de Chile and Director, Espacio Público
  • Viridiana Ríos, Political Analyst
  • José Ugaz, Partner, Benites, Vargas & Ugaz Abogados
  • Roberto Simon, Senior Director and Head of the Anti-Corruption Working Group, AS/COA (moderator)

AS/COA’s Anti-Corruption Working Group convened a panel of experts from around the region on September 30 to discuss whether the pandemic could put Latin America in a better position to pass anti-corruption reforms. José Ugaz, partner at Benites, Vargas & Ugaz Abogados, noted that the region has an opportunity to generate a new narrative around fighting corruption. “If we link the issue of poverty and inequality to corruption, we can open a new, unexplored path of tackling corruption with a human rights perspective," commented Ugaz. However, reforms will not be achieved easily because “anti-corruption policy has always been a political weapon in Latin America,” warned political analyst Viridiana Ríos. As professor at the Universidad de Chile and director of Espacio Público, Eduardo Engel observed, “Corruption is the manifestation of weak institutions.” 



 

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