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Paraguay is the second most corrupt country in South America, according to Transparency International’s 2012 corruption perceptions index
Horacio Cartes was jailed briefly in 1989 on charges of illegal currency dealings before being acquitted. He’s been investigated for drug trafficking by the United States, and accused of flooding Brazil with contraband cigarettes.
His questionable past, though, didn’t stop voters in Paraguay last month from voting him in as the country’s next president amid an election marred by allegations of voting buying and fraud. Cartes, from the conservative Colorado party, takes over the presidency in August.
A tobacco magnate and one of Paraguay's richest men, Cartes has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and links to drug traffickers. The accusations against him are part of a smear campaign carried out by his political opponents, Cartes has said.
Still, the election of such a controversial figure does little to improve Paraguay's tarnished reputation as a nation known for rampant corruption and a haven for fake goods.
Scandals involving the way public contracts are awarded and the siphoning off and misuse of public funds by the political elite are common in this small, landlocked South American country.
“It’s a state where corruption is absolute, a legacy of decades of dictatorship,” Marta Ferrara, head of Seeds for Democracy, a local anti-corruption watchdog, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Corruption in Paraguay’s construction and public health sectors is particularly rife, as is graft among state security forces, she said.
“We’re concerned about the high levels of corruption in the police and state security forces and police involved in crime and robberies,” Ferrara said in a telephone interview from Paraguay's capital, Asuncion.
According to Transparency International’s 2012 corruption perceptions index, Paraguay is the second most corrupt country in South America. It ranked 150 out of 174 countries, with one being the least corrupt.
Not surprisingly, combating graft is key concern among Paraguayans.
According to a recent survey by RED Ciudadana, a network of local non-governmental organisations, 33 percent of those interviewed said fighting corruption is the main challenge facing the Cartes government, followed by tackling unemployment.
But, if and how, Cartes will tackle corruption remains uncertain.
“It’s a mystery if Cartes has any plans to fight corruption. He hardly talked about the issue during the election campaign and made no promises to combat corruption,” Ferrara said.
BOOMING ECONOMY
Most Paraguayans come into contact with Cartes’s business empire on a daily basis. When they drink a beer or soft drink, smoke a cigarette, open a bank account, support the local football team, there’s a good chance the brand is owned or run by Cartes.
Around 40 percent of Paraguay's 6.6 million people are poor, and many of those who voted for Cartes did so because they hope he can turn his business acumen into providing jobs and reducing poverty.
Record soy harvests and beef exports, the backbone of Paraguay’s economy, are fuelling economic growth, with 10.5 percent growth expected this year.
But Paraguay’s poor, especially those living in rural areas, are not yet feeling yet the trickle-down effect of a booming economy.
“Cartes was able to portray himself as a successful businessman who can offer jobs to people. That seemed to override his dark past,” Ferrara said.
Raising awareness among Paraguayans about the social and economic cost of corruption, promoting better access to public information, strengthening the country’s weak judiciary and supporting local journalists to continue exposing scandals are all key ways to tackle graft in the country.
‘Citizens still don’t understand the true of cost of corruption and how it means less money is spent on health and education. With the help of the press, civil society groups can put more pressure on the government to fight corruption,” Ferrara said.
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