Corruption arrests down under Bolsonaro: who’s to blame?

Despite successfully running for Brazil’s president in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform, Jair Bolsonaro’s record on the matter is less than stellar. Roughly one year ago, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) set up a monitoring group to oversee developments in Brazil’s anti-corruption agenda, with Transparency International pointing out setbacks in the fight against corruption under the current government. 

“Political interference in law enforcement institutions is at a high in Brazil, with significant setbacks to the autonomy of the Prosecutor’s Office, Federal Police, and Judiciary,” said the NGO in a comprehensive report delivered to the OECD in October 2020.

Since then, the federal government has faced multiple corruption allegations, including shady vaccine deals — revealed by the Senate’s Covid inquiry — and the use of the so-called “secret budget” to win over lawmakers by way of opaque budgetary grants.

Data obtained by freedom of information organization Fiquem Sabendo shows that corruption-related arrests are at a record-low since 2008. Among the leading factors behind this drop was the winding up of the notorious Operation Car Wash task force in 2020, after political intervention from Prosecutor General Augusto Aras — a firm ally of President Bolsonaro’s.

The number of corruption-related arrests dropped 44 percent in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same...