Safeguarding Political Integrity in a Context of Democratic Backsliding: Evidence from the Peruvian Case

The Odebrecht scandal, also known as Lava Jato, has cast a profound shadow over Latin American politics. The Brazilian construction giant developed a sophisticated scheme of bribery, collusion, and illegal electoral campaign financing across the continent and beyond. The ripples of Lava Jato have spread far beyond Brazil and its effects have been unprecedented. For example, every Peruvian president since the return of democracy in 2001 is under investigation for their relations with the Odebrecht funds. However, despite the extensive prosecutions of high-level officials, politicians and businesspeople, levels of public confidence in the judicial system and prosecution, and other institutions such as electoral bodies, have not improved. In addition, Peruvian democracy is regressing. Considering this paradox, this research focuses on the consequences of the Odebrecht case prosecution and its lack of effectiveness in enhancing Peruvian public opinion regarding the democratic system. Additionally, this study explores how a country can uphold political integrity amidst democratic backsliding. Employing a blend of quantitative methodologies—leveraging country-level data, the Democracy Index, Corruption Perception Index, Capacity to Combat Corruption Index, and the Barómetro de las Américas metrics—and qualitative techniques like process tracing, this study endeavours to present a comprehensive panorama of Peru’s political integrity following the Odebrecht scandal. Through this approach, it seeks to shed light on the intricate interplay among factors like public opinion, implementation of reforms, and the anticorruption legal framework. In doing so, this study aims to unravel the nuanced outcomes stemming from anti-corruption endeavours.