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Editor's Note: Carlos Alberto Montaner is a writer and political analyst at CNN. His columns are published in dozens of newspapers in Spain, the United States and Latin America. Montaner is also vice president of the Liberal International.
(CNN Spanish) - Peru was one of the fastest growing nations in Latin America in 2012 and 2013, according to World Bank figures. It is very likely that this phenomenon vanishes, given the institutional crisis we see in Lima. Because growth depends, to a large extent, on investments, and uncertainty will affect the country very negatively in that chapter.
While the most recent institutional crisis in Peru broke out, Mr. Jorge Barata revealed in Curitiba, Brazil, the names of dozens of people suspected of acts of corruption instigated by the Odebrecht company in Peru.
Mr. Barata was a senior executive of the Brazilian company in charge of the Peruvian operation.
If there is a great villain in this conflict it is corruption. According to the corruption perception index of 2018 compiled by Transparency International, Peru is the country 105 of 180 registered, and barely reaches 35 points out of a total of 100 of the best rated.
The corruption and cynicism with which the laws are violated, explains that the whole of Peruvian society has a very bad opinion of politicians and democratic institutions.
According to several surveys, in April 1992, when Alberto Fujimori gave himself a coup and dissolved Congress, he had 82% popular support. Peruvians at the time, like those of today, did not trust institutions. They preferred the "strong men."
MIRA : Citizens in Peru: Congress and its members have shown lack of interest
The problem is that the enlightened leaders are also corrupt, and both Fujimori and Vladimiro Montesinos incurred various crimes that ended up taking them to jail.
That is, despite the difficulties, there is no better model than the institutions of democracy, including the market, but provided they are protected by an independent judiciary that complies with and enforces the laws.
As long as we do not have that factor, our countries will occasionally fall into crisis.