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"Lava Jato, a transnational bribery case that started in Brazil and spread throughout Latin America, upended elections and collapsed governments. Why did the investigation gain momentum in some countries but not others? The book traces reforms that enhanced prosecutors' capacity to combat white-collar crime and shows that Lava Jato became a full-blown anti-corruption crusade where reforms were coupled with the creation of aggressive taskforces. For some, prosecutors' unconventional methods were necessary and justified. Others saw dangerous affronts to due process and democracy. Given these controversies, how did voters react to a once-in-a-generation attempt to clean politics? Can prosecutors trigger hope, conveying a message of possible regeneration? Or does aggressive prosecution erode the tacit consensus around the merits of anti-corruption? Prosecutors, Voters and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America is a study of the impact of accountability through criminalization, one that dissects the drivers and dilemmas of resolute transparency efforts"--
List of contents
1. Introduction: anti-Corruption crusades; Part I. Causes: 2. The drivers of prosecutorial zeal: institutional change and three 'Moments' (with stories from Brazil, Italy and Beyond); 3. Lava Jato in Peru: taking on the political and judicial establishments; 4. One crusade and two failed inquiries: Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico; Part II. Public: 5. Fighting corruption, curbing cynicism? Crusades, emotions and the future of politics; 6. Of cockroaches and superheroes: Talking about Lava Jato in Brazil and Peru; 7. Is prosecutorial zeal what partisans make of it? Survey evidence from Brazil; 8. Prosecutorial Trade-Offs and the precarity of hope: Survey evidence from Peru; Part III. Conclusions: 9. Theoretical lessons and a normative assessment; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Ezequiel A. Gonzalez-Ocantos is Associate Professor and Fellow of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Shifting Legal Visions: Judicial Change and Human Rights Trials in Latin America and The Politics of Transitional Justice in Latin America.
Summary
Lava Jato, the largest transnational bribery case in history, shocked Latin American politics. This book explains why the investigation gained momentum in some countries, becoming an anti-corruption crusade. It examines public reactions, finding that prosecutors' unprecedented zeal eroded the tacit consensus around the merits of anti-corruption.
