Politics of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Latin America

Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez is specially appointed associate professor, School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Japan.

• Part I: National commissions, agencies, and systems 1. Introduction: Locating anti-corruption agencies within the politics of anti-corruption in Latin America 2. Anti-Corruption Whack-a-Mole: Costa Rica’s de-centralized agencies and increasingly sophisticated corruption 3. Combating Corruption in Chile: The Presidential Advisory Commissions on Public Probity, 1994-2015 4. Promise, Invisibility, Politicization: The waving path of the Anti-Corruption Office in Argentina 5. The Politics of Building Anti-Corruption Institutions: The Case of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Peru 6. The Anti-Corruption Agency and Its Policy Role in Colombia: Improvement in Institutional Capacity or Political Symbolism? 7. Corruption control under fire: A brief history of Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller General 8. Mexico's National Anti-Corruption System 9. Dealing with the "original contradiction" in fighting corruption in countries with systemic corruption: A critique of the cases of Brazil and Mexico and their multiorganizational strategies Part II: International missions and commissions 10. Unprecedented Success and Entrenched Opposition: The Complicated Legacy of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala 11. The Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) and its New Integrated Criminal Investigation Model 12. Ten Key Lessons from the OAS Mission in Support of the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras 13. The Role of the United Nations and the Organization of American States in Delegation of Governance Agreements: The Case of Hybrid Anticorruption Agencies in Central America 14. The Illusion of CICIES in El Salvador 15. Empty promises to fighting corruption in Ecuador: The failure of the International Experts Commission against Corruption in Ecuador (CEICCE) 16. Conclusion: The Anti-Corruption Agency Space in Latin America Index

"Dedicated anti-corruption agencies are a favorite prescription for improving the quality of government, but their global track record is indifferent-to-dismal. Such agencies are rarely transformative interventions; rather, they are immersed in the systems, institutions, and procedures they are intended to change. This essential collection examines the problems and potential of such agencies throughout Latin America, offering a fresh view of reforms in the region and reassessing contemporary reform thinking."Michael Johnston, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, Colgate University, USA"The case studies by a dream team of country experts examining anti-corruption agencies at both the national and international levels in Latin America provide critical insights into the political challenges these agencies face during their creation and operation; their interactions with economic, social and political dynamics; and the conditions behind success and failure. This must-read contribution to the literature brilliantly reveals the political context surrounding the on-going fight against corruption."Stephen D. Morris, Middle Tennessee State University, USA"Devising successful strategies to reduce rampant corruption is critical everywhere, especially in Latin America. The chapters in this important book showcase victories, and also the defeats from which anticorruption activists can learn how to improve their attacks on wholesale kleptocracy as well as on standard forms of state capture, money laundering, and graft. The anticorruption battle is ongoing and this can be one of its guides."Robert I. Rotberg, Harvard Kennedy School, USA; Anticorruption (2020), Corruption in Latin America (2019)