Essay Example on Corruption in Brazil: An Analysis of Academic Sources

Corruption is largely described as a form of dishonesty and fraudulent activity by persons who are put in power. This has been termed to be a major setback in most countries where the leaders who are put in power largely misuse the resources. The act is largely spread in most countries and has become a hindering factor towards the development of the countries. In this piece of work, we focus on discussing the level of corruption in Brazil as is written in academic sources and compare it with what is published in the media.

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Corruption in the country exists on all levels of leadership ranging from those at the top most management all the way to those in small municipalities. The act dates back to the historical period though the activities were neither reported in the media nor charged in courts hence making it difficult to identify the history of corruption in the country. All types of corruption exist in the country ranging from nepotism to cronyism.

Members of the Brazilian Supreme Court are often identified to be the major causes of the corruption cases in the country as they do not put much effort in curbing the act. They collaborate with government officials and by receiving bribes, the cases end up uninvestigated and as a result .The most common type of corruption that has been identified in the country is embezzlement of public funds by overbilling of public projects. These allow the individuals to access funds in a corrupt manner to use in funding of their political rallies as well as enrich themselves.

Political corruption, which has been termed to be the most prevalent corruption in the country is least documented by the media. Sources documenting corruption have only been documented lately with references dating back even to the colonial times. Cases of overbilling which are the most prevalent cases among government officials have been termed to be quite normal and occur in almost every public institution. Currently, the country is experiencing several cases of corruption including the 'Operation car wash' that has had very many of politicians involved. In addition, the corruption case has led to the impeachment of former president of the country Dilma Rousseff.

The operation car wash case involves investigation of allegations that were made that the state oil company, Petrobras accepted bribes from construction firms so that they can offer them contracts at inflated prices. Years into investigation has led to proof of the corrupt behavior of government officials being surfaced to the public. This happens to be just one of the few cases of corruption that have come to light. A closer look at the operations of the Brazilian government could surface more cases and more government officials would end up behind bars.

Corruption in the country not only relates to government institutions but has also attracted private corporations .Some private investors collaborate with officers in government offices in order for them to obtain favors and offer services to the government at inflated prices. The act tends to be advantageous to those who obtain the favors but oppresses those who do not have political friends hence are not able to access favors.

During the military dictatorship era in the country, between 1964 and 1988.Recently, however, the cases have come to the public and have been documented even in books such as the series of historical analysis by Elio Gaspari (David,1996). Cases during that time included smuggling of luxury clothes and whisky .In addition, political corruption was evident where some governors would smuggle money to help save their companies from bankruptcy.

The most notorious corruption scandals led to the then president, Fernando Collor De Mello to suffer an actual impeachment process. The country has since experienced a series of other corruption cases which have led to arrest or even barring of most political leaders. Based on data given by the superior electoral court, about 317 Brazilian politicians have been barred from vying after an evaluation conducted by the clean Record Act. A large number of politicians that have been barred have been named to belong to the Brazilian Social Democracy party.

The country being ranked as the 57th most productive in relation to the GDP have suffered several economic setbacks as a result of the high level of corruption cases. The impacts of corruption on the economy of the country have been experienced in a large way in the country (Silva et al, 1999). The country has generated political and economic uncertainty which has contributed to recession being evident in the economy of the country for about two decades now. An estimate shows that about 3 to 5% of the GDP is lost annually due to the gross corruption that is evident in the country.

Large companies operating in the country have also had their activities affected. A company like Petro bras which was the largest oil producing company of the country filed for bankruptcy as a result of lack of funds. The major reason for its bankruptcy can be termed to be the vast levels of corruption that are witnessed. Corruption has not only had a toll on the economy but has resulted to political unrest in the country. Politicians tend to be in constant wrangles that lead to disruption of peace in the country.

In order to counter and deal with the increasing cases of corruption in the country, the clean company Act of 2014 was enacted. The law held that a company was responsible for any acts of corruption of its employees and it was liable without even a finding of fault. The Act also prohibited bribing of Brazilian officials and fraud that was witnessed in public procurement. With the enactment of this Act, the cases of corruption in the country have been termed to significantly reduce. The Act has been termed to bring a dramatic change in both the economic and political situation of the country.

Public prosecutors have now had the ability to counter the activities as they are armed with the new laws and regulations. In addition drastic changes have been enacted in the government where new leaders have been enacted. The president, for example, was impeached due to involvement with the carwash operation. This is proof that the country has put major focus on fighting and completely doing away with corruption.

Despite corruption being evident in the country, the media hardly published any news or a book about it. This is as a result of the large influence that government officials also had on the media. This notion has lately changed with few records being published and put out in the public eye.

Works Cited

Fleischer, David. "Political corruption in Brazil." Crime, Law and Social Change 25.4 (1996): 297-321.

Geddes, Barbara, and Artur Ribeiro Neto. "Institutional sources of corruption in Brazil." Third World Quarterly 13.4 (1992): 641-661.

Silva, Marcos Fernandes da. "The political economy of corruption in Brazil." Revista de Administracao de Empresas 39.3 (1999): 26-41.