Illicit Political Finance and State Capture
A two-day international Round Table discussing the use of illicit finance in politics will be inaugurated on 1 December 2009 at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs by International IDEA and the Government of Mexico, in cooperation with the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) and the Institute for Legal Research of the UNAM University.
“The Round Table,” says Secretary-General Vidar Helgesen of International IDEA, “is designed to share experiences on the challenges posed to democracy by the illicit financing of political institutions and processes, and explore ways to address the problem effectively at the national and international level. “The problem is aggravated, Helgesen adds, “by the often criminal origin of such finance and the linkages between politics and organized crime.”
The discussions range from the corruption of public office holders to the creation of large networks of patronage, to illicit financing of political parties and electoral campaigns.
The keynote speaker at the Round Table is Misha Glenny, a British investigative journalist and writer specialised in transnational organized crime, and author of the international best-seller McMafia.
The Round Table brings together eminent researchers, policy practitioners and civil society leaders from all over the world – particularly from regions where illicit political financing is experienced in an acute way such as in Latin America, Eastern Europe, West Africa and elsewhere.
Democracy in the world is at a crossroads and 2009 is a benchmark year: it marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Third Wave of democratizations in Latin America, the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the fifteenth anniversary of the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
More than one hundred countries have undergone a democratic transition during these three decades, yet democracy continues to face huge challenges: in many countries elections are riddled with fraud – as recently in Afghanistan; incumbent presidents are trying to change constitutions to stay in power; and there have been attempts to forcefully overthrow legally elected governments as in Honduras. Deep social inequalities persist in many countries and erode the credibility of democracy as a system expected to improve the living conditions of the majority of people.
The Round Table is organized in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Council of International IDEA Member States of which Mexico is currently the Chair.
