TEGUCIGALPA --- If corruption is relatively easy to define, it is hard to detect, harder yet to stamp out. This is especially true of nations that have had a long history of deception and a deep-rooted tradition of impunity that not only shields or exculpates the guilty but also destigmatizes the offense. Honduras, with its murky political past and ritualized penchant for obfuscation, is a case in point. Decades of cronyism, shameless nepotism, secrecy and prevarication have helped rationalize corruption. It has since become a "wink-wink, nod-nod" business-as-usual instrument of personal enrichment, influence-peddling and political clout. The dimensions of the problem take on special significance when they are delineated with surprising pluck and candor by a high-ranking state official.
"Corruption is the mother of all sins," says Oscar Alvarez, Minister of Security in an exclusive interview. "Blind, deaf and mute, it pollutes all segments of society. When it infects various layers of government, the nation is at once imperiled, often irreversibly."
A self-described advocate of "open doors and transparency in government," the US-educated overseer of the nation's top law enforcement agency insists that any attempt to frustrate the spread of corruption, must first be shored up by the political will to do so. "You then need a team of incorruptible bureaucrats and a vigilant and engaged citizenry willing to make its public servants accountable for their actions." Last, but most importantly, Minister Alvarez asserts, is the need to cultivate a collective ethos that fosters civic self-esteem and repudiates corruption wherever it occurs.
These are gallant words, uttered at a time when discretion and ambiguity dominate political discourse in Honduras. Mr. Alvarez's vision and wish list, ambitious if not utopian, are refreshing. They also seem terribly out of sync with the reality of the moment.
Abuse of authority, fraud, misappropriation of funds, swindling, bribery, perjury, dereliction of duty and gross negligence continue to top the list of complaints against various federal, state and municipal bodies. Blamed are a culture of corruption fueled by fear, apathy and complacency, and a conspiracy of silence on the part of a growing segment of Honduran society that perceives corruption less as a misdeed than a rite of passage, a privilege earned by people in high places. Such value system has in turn emboldened common folk to suborn public officials in schemes that have resulted in a convoluted and inextricable symbiosis of intrigue and crime.
Since 1996, when detailed statistics on corruption began to surface, more than 6,000 complaints have been lodged against various institutions. Topping the list --- in descending order --- are the Treasury, the business sector, City Hall and adjunct municipal entities, the courts, UNAH, the all-powerful and inscrutable private utility, HONDUTEL, the Department of the Interior, the police and, to a lesser extent since the dismemberment of the military regime, the armed forces.
The meshing of political and business elites into a tangled lattice of duplicity and fraud has helped fossilize corruption in Honduras. A pattern of impunity and immunity in high places has further dampened the public's will --- and ability --- to challenge an increasingly unyielding power structure. The disturbing rise in drug trafficking, child prostitution and violence against homeless youths, among other sins, it is believed, is the result of such conspiracy.
"Will the 'moral revolution' called for by previous administrations ever come to pass?" I ask Mr. Alvarez before we part.
"The same dynamic process that turns an honest person into a vulgar criminal also earns a nation a reputation for corruption. I cannot presume to guess with any degree of accuracy what the future will bring. But I am obligated to hope that we can one day be rid of this scourge. Electing honest politicians --- and keeping them honest --- is only part of the solution. The battle against corruption must also include an aggressive reeducation of our youth, a commitment to basic moral principles and the reaffirmation of a national resolve against all crime."
And as Minister Alvarez spoke, allegations that several members of the police narcotics detail had been involved in a vast conspiracy exploded on the cover of at least one major daily.
Also in this section:
Panama News Briefs
Back to school
On the campaign trail
Corruption in Honduras
Slavery and rape in the Sudan
Cops and prosecutors haul Eisenmann in for interrogation
