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Colombia's congress has lost a tenth of its members after they were forced to quit over corruption charges and alleged links with right-wing paramilitary groups
When Colombia’s congress reconvened this week, it was 22 members short. In the three years since it was elected, the law-making body has lost nearly 10 percent of its members who have been forced to step down over corruption charges and alleged links with right-wing paramilitary groups.
Graft scandals implicating sixteen men and six women members of Colombia’s congress - made up of the senate and the chamber of representatives - involve awarding irregular contracts, misuse of public funds, influence peddling, and alleged money laundering.
Some former senators and congress members have been placed under house arrest, some have been jailed and fined, while others face ongoing judicial investigations.
In one infamous corruption scandal in 2011, Ivan Moreno, a former senator for the left-wing Democratic Pole political party, was jailed and barred from holding public office for 20 years. He was charged with fraud after tendering multi-million-dollar public works contracts in the capital Bogota to companies and local businessmen in exchange for payment. His brother is Bogota’s former mayor, Samuel Moreno, who was also jailed for his part in the scandal.
On top of this, since late 2006, dozens of members of Colombia’s congress have been placed under investigation by the country's attorney general for allegedly conspiring with illegal paramilitary groups in election fraud and even murder. Most of these paramilitary groups have since been demobilised,
This week, ex-senator and former head of Colombia’s congress, Dilian Toro, was formally accused by the attorney general's office for her alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme, which involved buying property with money linked to drug trafficking. She has been in police custody since last year pending trial.
Not surprisingly, many Colombians have little faith in their elected officials. An opinion poll by Invamer Gallup earlier this month showed that 60 percent of Colombians have a negative view about the country’s congress.
“It’s clear that Colombia deserves to have other congressmen and women,” Camilo Romero, a senator for the Democratic Pole Party was quoted as saying in the Colombian weekly news magazine, La Semana.
Ahead of Colombia’s presidential and congressional elections next year, Transparency for Colombia, the local chapter of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, noted in a survey that tighter controls are needed over donations made by private companies to individual politicians, political parties and campaigns.
Only six percent of 858 business leaders polled in the survey said their businesses kept transparent and up-to-date records of contributions made to political parties and campaigns.
“It’s legitimate that the business sector participates in politics through campaign financing, but this should not be used as a mechanism to obtain contracts and favours from public officials,” Elisabeth Ungar, head of Transparency for Colombia, told TrustLaw in a telephone interview.
“What businessmen surveyed said is that campaign financing has become a form of bribery because there is the expectation that they will, and do, obtain something in return.”
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