Topic: Political Corruption in Latin America
Country: Venezuela
Delegate Name: Tananya Prankprakma
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Venezuela position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Political corruption is a serious problem all around the world, though such corruption is especially prominent in Latin America. Brazil’s current president, Michel Temer, has been accused of receiving money from a meatpacking firm, JBS. This firm is already a part of another corruption scandal and though these accusations have not been proven, they are most likely true. This is only a tiny sample of the corruption that infests Latin American politics. The corruption ranges from vote-buying in Peru to the Honduran government, which is being investigated on almost every level. Although political corruption is rampant in Latin America, Venezuela remains relatively untouched by it. Venezuela is very much against corruption in politics and will do what is needed to stop it.
Corruption can be found in many place within politics but is mostly found in three places: government officials, voting processes, and drug trades. These three are not mutually exclusive and are often intertwined with each other. Political corruption is a very broad topic and specifically targeting these three things, while not a complete solution, will reduce the corruption in Latin America to a manageable amount. Venezuela has signed and ratified the UN Convention on Corruption which is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. Venezuela is not currently directly helping corrupt countries because that is something that more developed and stable countries should be doing. Historically, traditional methods have not worked against corruption in Latin American politics, so it is not reasonable to ask developing countries in Latin America to solve these complex issues.
Venezuela is concerned by the increasingly right-wing governments present in Latin America and the possibility that they could lead to corrupt autocracies. Venezuela would look favorably upon resolutions that work toward the goal of getting corrupt officials out of governments and making sure that voting processes are fair. While political corruption in Latin America is a uniquely difficult problem to handle, there is no doubt that a solution will be found.
