How the Odebrecht scandal imploded Peruvian politics

Just four years ago, the Odebrecht construction group was an international behemoth, with a presence in 28 countries, principally in Latin America. The company founded in 1944 was the first Brazilian firm to lead a publicly-financed infrastructure project in the U.S., building Miami’s Metromover. It employed 168,000 people and, in 2014, boasted a turnover of USD 28.5 billion. As it turned out, much of that success was conquered thanks to hefty bribes to hundreds of public officials in several countries.

In Brazil, Operation Car Wash pulled the thread of Odebrecht’s corruption network—discovering that the group even had its own bribery department. The scandal led to the ruin of dozens of politicians, as well as financial struggles. Banned from public works, Odebrecht fell into disgrace, reducing its staff by 80 percent, and entering court-supervised administration, one step before bankruptcy.

The effects of the Odebrecht scandal, however, spilled over into several countries. Once the biggest construction firm in Latin America, Odebrecht admitted to bribing politicians in at least 11 countries. None of them, however, seem to have been hit as hard as Peru.

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