The infiltration of organized crime in Latin America poses a serious threat to democracy and the rule of law across the region. Through illegal contributions to political parties and electoral campaigns, criminal organizations buy influence and corrupt officials at all levels of government.
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On March 5, 2019, the Inter American Dialogue hosted an event titled “Political Finance and State Capture in the Americas.”
Despite taking significant steps towards a more gender-balanced political system –notably the recent adoption of female representation quotas— Colombia, like many other Latin American countries, continues to struggle with the legacies of pervasive social, economic and political inequality that disproportionately affect women. The study gauges the effect that campaign finance has for aspiring female leaders, and puts it in the context of broader social and cultural barriers that hinder women’s political activism throughout the region.
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Political finance may not get headlines, but it is the backbone of clean and fair elections
One of the most complex challenges in political financing regulation is to ensure the effective application of controls.
