Vargas Llosa takes his share of the Odebrecht scandal.
"Someday we will have to erect a monument in honor of the Brazilian company Odebrecht, because no government, company or political party has done as much as it has in exposing the corruption that corrodes the countries of Latin America, nor has it worked with such zeal to foster it," wrote the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa in an article published this Sunday; note: he supported former president Alejandro Toledo, who received R$ 20 million from the construction company.
247 - In your article from this SundayPeruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa takes a jab at the Odebrecht scandal.
"Someday we will have to erect a monument in honor of the Brazilian company Odebrecht, because no government, company or political party has done as much as it has in exposing the corruption that corrodes the countries of Latin America, nor has anyone worked with such zeal to foster it," he says.
"To date, there are three Latin American leaders implicated in Odebrecht's dirty dealings outside of Brazil: those of Peru, Colombia, and Panama. And the list has only just begun. The one in the most difficult situation is former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, to whom Odebrecht allegedly paid US$20 million to secure contracts for two sections of the Interoceanic Highway that connects Peru and Brazil through the Amazon rainforest," recalls Vargas Llosa, who admits to having supported Toledo.
"It is a tragedy that, at the moment when most Latin Americans are beginning to be convinced that liberal democracy is the only system of government that guarantees civilized development, based on coexistence and legality, the frenzied theft committed by corrupt rulers conspires against this positive trend. Let us take advantage of the Odebrecht plea bargains to punish them and demonstrate that democracy is the only system capable of regenerating itself," he states.