Topic: Political Corruption in Latin America
Country: United States
Delegate Name: Ethan Bonnell
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All United States position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Political corruption has long been a staple of politics in Latin America. Drug cartels run rampant and bribery charges are thrown back and forth as leaders accept money for whatever they want regardless of the law. The Corruption Perception Indices for Latin American countries are among the worst in the world, which is unusual considering the relatively advanced status of their markets. Fundamentally political corruption challenges one of the foremost ideas of democracy, the idea of political participation. Political parties have been denied a place on the ballot, people have been stopped from voting, and political opponents have been jailed or killed for their beliefs. These kinds of corruption allows for inefficiencies in both the public and private sector to continue despite their numerous flaws. The United States has historically kept close relations with Latin America and has served as a guiding force in times of need. With corruption running rampant, it is no different now. The United States will continue to provide aid and resources to those that need to combat corruption but would urge foreign powers to not interfere with these matters without the consent of the United States. Furthermore, the United States would like to emphasize that no amount of money could help these states as providing monetary funds would likely increase the state of corruption even further without proper oversight, oversight that likely the UN would be unable to provide. It is the place of this committee first and foremost to review current UN missions in Latin America including most importantly the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti to determine the efficacy of these missions and make sure that the sovereignty of these states and of the region is being protected while political freedom is being promoted. Outside of that, the most important thing for Latin America the UN can do overall is work in any way possible to strengthen the institutions of democracy. The committee should promote ideas of an independent judiciary and of a free market, allowing for more free competition and maintaining a more fair court system. Already Latin America has begun to implement legislative limits on the executive branch, leading to a crackdown on corruption. The United States would also like to recommend that states with high rates of corruption seek the services of the United Nations, most prominently electoral assistance to make sure the voices of the citizens of Latin America are heard. The UN should also collaborate with NGOs to work to solve surface level problems in Latin America, such as high crime rates and poor living conditions, which are exacerbated by corruption in these states.
