The Economist - USA (2020-08-29)

8 Leaders The EconomistAugust 29th 2020

1

T

heallegationsareunprovenbutstunning.Ina 63-pagede-

position,disclosedonAugust19th,EmilioLozoya,oncehead

ofPemex,Mexico’sstateoilfirm,accuses 17 prominentMexicans

ofcorruption.AccordingtoMrLozoya,EnriquePeñaNieto,pres-

identin2012-18,benefitedfromthepaymentofmillionsofdol-

larsbyOdebrecht,a Brazilianconstructionfirmthathasbribed

officialsacrossLatinAmerica.Themoneyfinancedhiselection

campaignandcoaxedlegislatorstovoteforenergyreforms(see

Americassection).ThegovernorofVeracruzgavehima Ferrari,

MrLozoyasays.FelipeCalderón,MrPeña’spredecessor,oversaw

corruptdealingsbetweenPemexandBraskem,a petrochemical

firmpart-ownedbyOdebrecht.MrLozoyafingerstwocandi-

datesinthepresidentialelectionin2018.Thesizeofthepay-offs,

andthestatusofallegedrecipients,wouldmake

thisthebiggestscandalinMexicanhistory.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

seesitasa vindication.amlo, asheisknown,

haslongarguedthatpovertyandinequalityare

thefaultofa “corruptregime”.Hewona land-

slidevictoryin 2018 byvowingnotjusttoreduce

graftbut,implausibly,toeliminateit.

If hewereserious,hewouldstepbackandal-

lowa thorough,impartialinvestigationofMrLozoya’scharges,

followedbytrials.Thatwouldprovidea modelforpunishing

corruption and discourage future wrongdoing. The scandal

mightthusmarkaturning pointinMexico’slosingstruggle

againstbribery.Thatiswhatamlosayshewants,butit looksun-

likely.Hewouldratherwinapplausefordecryingfraudthan

buildtheinstitutionstoinvestigate,punishandpreventit.

Someofthoseinstitutionsarealreadyinplace,thankstoMr

Peña,ofallpeople.Heestablishedan“anti-corruptionsystem”,

whichprovidesforanattorney-generalseparatefromtheexecu-

tivebranch,ananti-corruptionprosecutorandanoversightrole

forngos.However,hisgovernmentensuredthatthenewappa-

ratuswouldnotworkproperly,bystallingappointmentsand

blockinginvestigations.Andamlohasdonelittlebetter.Theat-

torney-general,AlejandroGertz,isa politicalally(hewasamlo’s

securityadviserduringtheelectioncampaign).MrGertzchose

ananti-corruptionprosecutorwithoutissuinga publiccallfor

candidates.Lastyearthebudgetfortheprosecutor’sofficewas

thelowestsumallocatedsince2008.

IntheLozoyacasetheseofficialslooklikebystanders.The

presidentplanstoholda referendumonwhetherformerpresi-

dentsshouldbeprosecuted,ineffecthandingtheprosecutors’

jobtovoters.Thatisincompatiblewiththeruleoflaw.Healso

showeda videoofofficialscountingcashathismorningpress

conferenceandhadhimselffilmedflippingthroughMrLozoya’s

dossierwhileofferinga runningcommentary.Suchgrandstand-

ingcontrastswiththeLavaJato(CarWash)anti-

graftinvestigationsinBrazil,whichwerecon-

ductedbyindependentjudgesandprosecutors,

andwentafterthreeformerpresidents.

Fewquestionamlo’spersonalprobity,and

his governmenthas been less scandal-prone

thanitspredecessors.Butinsomewaysitmay

beencouragingcorruption.amlocutthesala-

riesofseniorofficials,increasingtheirtempta-

tiontoseekpay-offs.TheshareofMexicanswhosaytheyhave

paidbribesroseby7.5%between 2017 and2019,andtheaverage

amountofbribestheypaidleaptby70%,saysanofficialsurvey.

SoonafterMrLozoya’stestimonycameout,a videosurfaced

ofamlo’s brotheracceptingbagsofcashin 2015 fromanofficial

inthestateofChiapastosupportMorena,amlo’s politicalparty.

Ofcoursethemattershouldbeinvestigated,amlosaid.Hein-

sistedthatthereisnocomparisonbetweenthemisdeedsofpast

governmentsandanythingMorenamighthavedone.

Hiswordsringhollow.CleaningupMexicorequiresbuilding

effective, independent institutions.This maybe slower and

dullerthanpresidentialshowboating,butitisfarmorelikelyto

work.Mexiconeedstheruleoflaw,nota strongman. 7

How not to handle a scandal

Rather than strengthening institutions to fight corruption, Mexico’s president puts on a show

Mexico

O

f all thetroubles facing the world, the rising prevalence of

dementia might seem among the less pressing. The reason

behind it—longer lifespans—is to be cheered; it does not ad-

vance at the speed of a viral infection but with the ponderous in-

evitability of demographic change; and its full effects will not be

felt until far into the future. But the reality is very different. As

our special report this week makes clear, dementia is already a

global emergency. Even now, more people live with it than can be

looked after humanely. No cure is in the offing. And no society

has devised a sustainable way to provide and pay for the care that

people with it will need.

“Dementia” is an umbrella term for a range of conditions,

with a variety of causes, of which the most common is Alz-

heimer’s disease, accounting for 60-80% of cases. It usually

starts with forgetfulness and a mild loss of cognitive function-

ing. But as it advances, people lose the ability to look after them-

selves. Many require round-the-clock care long before they die.

It does not just affect the elderly, but they are much more likely to

have it—and life expectancy globally has climbed from not much

more than 30 a century ago to over 70 now, and over 80 in rich

countries. By some estimates, 1.7% of 65- to 69-year-olds have de-

mentia and the risk of developing it doubles every five years after

The forgotten problem

The rising prevalence of dementia is a global emergency

Dementia