The President’s Executive Order Donald Trump suspending the application of the law United States that prohibits bribes to foreign officials went almost unnoticed in the midst of the headlines about their unusual proposals to turn Gaza into a tourist destination, take control of Panama Canal and buy Greenland. However, the news about the Anti -Boarding Law should have caused a much stronger reaction. It is a specific fact that could increase corruption levels in Latin America and in various parts of the world.
According to the directive of Trump, United States “Paus” will be the implementation of the Law on Corrupt Practices abroad (FCPA) of 1977, which has been the main American tool to combat corruption abroad. The law helped uncover, among many others, the bribes scandal of Odebrechtwhich shook more than half a dozen governments Latin American A decade ago.
According to a statement from the White House of February 10, the decision of Trump to suspend research on bribes abroad, it is intended to “restore competitiveness and security of USA” The statement says that the current Anti -Boarding Law It does not allow companies Americans “Participate in common practices among international competitors, which creates an unequal playing field.” Many companies Americans They have complained for years that their competitors of China and other countries earn great government tenders in other countries paying bribes to officials and that puts them at a disadvantage.
At least 31 US companies were under investigation for alleged bribes abroad under the Anti -Boarding Law at the end of 2024. Now, the law will be “reviewed” and replaced by “more reasonable guidelines,” said the White House. But corruption fighting organizations Latin American They say that the new measure will further encourage corruption in Latin America. “This will have a very negative impact on Latin America”, José Ugaz told me, a bump Peruvian which led some of the best -known corruption cases in his country, and now directs the group to fight prootic corruption in the Peru. “On the one hand, officials Latin American They will feel much more confident to receive bribes, because they know they will not be as investigated as before, ”Ugaz told me. “On the other hand, the companies of USA That they want to come here to do corrupt business will feel that they are more protected than before by US laws. ”
The temporary suspension of the Anti -Boarding Law by Trump It occurs at a time when a new perception ranking of international transparency corruption, an anti -corruption group based in Germanyshows an increase in corruption in many Latin American countries.
Luciana Torchiaro, director of the Division of International Transparency Américas, told me that “there are very few cases of countries Latin American that have improved in the ranking of perception of corruption this year, and several others that have scores below their historical levels, such as Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela” Now, with the order of Trumpcorruption levels in the region can get worse, he added.
The directive of Trump could boost European Union to relax your own anti -corruption laws. European companies will surely feel at a disadvantage regarding Americans in the light of the executive order of Trumpand probably ask their governments to make their laws make flexible, many experts affirm. The defenders of the measure of Trump They point out that there are other less draconian US laws that prohibit gifts to foreign governments.
¿Trump He really believes that lifting the prohibition to bribes will make companies Americans more competitive? Or is simply rewarding large companies that financed their presidential campaign?
It is probably the latter. Its executive order, unless it is revoked or modified, will encourage greater corruption in Latin Americawill increase political instability and impoverish countries.
Incredibly, instead of using their power to press China and other countries to adopt anti -over laws, Trump He is dismantling one of the main weapons to fight corruption worldwide.
–Glossado and edited–
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