Institutionalized Systemic Crime in Brazil

*Jorge B. Pontes 

After a roller coaster trial lasting almost two years and gyrating through several phases, the now famous Brazilian embezzlement case dubbed Operation Lava Jato (car wash) continues to capture the attention of the Brazilian population, who for the most part neither understand all the dimensions of the case, nor the endemic nature of corruption in the country.

What is further alarming is how the Workers Party (PT) has during its 14 year rule institutionalized crime, lending it legal contours that differentiate it from organized crime. The ideological underpinnings and fossilization of corruption in politics threatens national development to such an extent that it deserves the urgent scrutiny of not only law enforcement, but also the media and society as a whole.

Unlike organized crime, manifested by activities such as drugs and arms trafficking, and illegal gambling, institutionalized crime in Brazil has acquired an alarming legal veneer using branches of the government, the political establishment, the various ministries, and electoral rules to divert funds from the treasury — all under the guise of government contracts for activities such as construction and services among others.

The structured planning and coordination by leaders in key infrastructural sectors, government agencies, and across all political parties makes institutionalized crime far safer and wildly more profitable that organized crime run by mafia-like organizations.

Another feature that differentiates institutionalized crime in Brazil from organized crime is in the legal machinery that supports it. Whereas organized crime works by buying corrupt agents in law enforcement and politics, institutionalized crime in Brazil works by creating official agencies and legal promulgations that support the diversion of funds from treasury, provide impunity to all political participants, and safeguard the loot.

A big driver of institutionalized crime in Brazil has been the swelling of public coffers from the entry of tens of millions into the middle class, which in turn has fueled consumption, and increased tax collection. There has also been a dramatic growth in public tenders under the guise of providing better services and infrastructure to Brazil’s teeming middle class. Unfortunately, such tenders are rigged to point that many say you would be hard pressed to find a single procurement contract that has not been "arranged.”

What makes the latest rash of corruption scandals in Brazil even gloomier for its prospects is the emergence of mega projects conceptualized purely for the sake of enabling embezzlement of public funds. Instead of a soccer stadium that is overpriced, you have soccer stadiums that should never have been built in the first place. As many say wrongdoing and corruption have reached the root of government activities.

To exit this morass of institutionalized crime and deception, Brazil needs to strengthen the capabilities as law enforcement, public prosecutors, and the audit department, and provide a political shield to those who are investigating and prosecuting corruption. To face down institutionalized crime, one must have the capacity to investigate those who appointed his/her own boss.

Brazilian Federal Police Senior Commissioner

Artigo original aqui.