Berkley Center

In late September, I had the opportunity to attend the G20 Interfaith Forum, the theme of which was "No dejar a nadie atrás" ("Don't leave anyone behind"). Held a few weeks before the annual G20 Leaders Summit, the Interfaith Forum is an opportunity for academics and religiously-affiliated workers to make recommendations to the G20 leaders. In particular, the forum seeks to bridge the divide between religion and economics. Attendees also discuss the contributions of religious organizations to solving key global issues such as alleviating poverty, strengthening institutions, expanding access to education, and protecting the environment. It was impressive to see clerics dressed in their various vestments mingling with laypeople that work for a multitude of organizations, all speaking several different languages. The attendees were all united in their desire to "not leave anyone behind" in today's globalized world.

Corruption is a critical issue for the 2018 G20 Leaders Summit because it undermines efforts to fight poverty and promote economic development. One of the most engaging sessions that I attended at the forum was called "The Imperatives of Better Governance: Fighting Corruption is a Sine Qua Non for Global Agendas." One of the panelists at this session was the Berkley Center's Katherine Marshall. The speakers on this panel highlighted that religious voices are often absent from discussions about combating corruption. This is because anti-corruption efforts usually focus on the technical side of preventing theft from within the government and because religious organizations want to avoid messy political fights. However, the panelists argued that faith groups, which have deep roots in their communities and especially strong influence in religious countries like Argentina, have the unique ability to expose the destructive effects of corruption on poor communities and promote moral leadership based on trust and honesty.

Ever since I arrived here in Buenos Aires, corruption has consistently held the headlines. The prevailing attitude of the people with whom I've discussed political issues and current events (which is pretty much everyone because Argentines love to talk politics) is one of frustration. There is annoyance with the slow judicial process, discouragement with the arbitrariness of various institutions, and exasperation with the scandals that reach from daily life all the way up to the highest levels of government.

Dinner table discussions with my host family often turn to the investigation of former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the accusations of corruption against her. This has been an especially popular topic of conversation here in Argentina since the scandal broke back in August. The scandal broke after the notebooks of a driver of a public works official in the Kirchner administration were made public. This notebook detailed addresses, times, and values of bags of money delivered as illicit political payments. As a result of this information, more than a dozen wealthy business leaders and high ranking officials in the former administration were arrested. The former president has also been indicted for corruption. There are even allegations that millions of dollars are buried in farmland in southern Argentina. When this story hit the headlines, tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets around the country, demanding an end to Kirchner's immunity as a sitting senator.

At dinner, we often joke that the scandal would make a great Netflix series.

While this scandal rocked Argentina when it came to light, for me the most infuriating example of low-level corruption has been the impunity with which utility companies charge their customers arbitrarily for electricity and gas. My host family has recounted to me stories of how their monthly bills fluctuate wildly; they believe that they are being wildly overcharged. But it is nearly impossible to fight back, because any legal process would take up a massive amount of valuable time that would be better spent running their family-owned catering business. A legal fight might not matter anyways, because there is a strong chance that the judge would be paid off by the companies.

The chaos is enough to give anyone whiplash. President Mauricio Macri summed it up nicely: "We are a very peculiar country."

These wide-ranging scandals, affecting the country on the national level and hurting ordinary Argentines, demonstrate the need for ethical leadership. The participants of the G20 Interfaith Forum stressed that this ethical leadership must come from religious communities. After all, faith-based groups are inspired by strong ethical codes that promote the defense of the most vulnerable. As leaders in education, health, and social work, the influence of religious organizations runs deep. These religious organizations are well-positioned to act as a model of what public policy should look like. In profoundly religious countries like Catholic Argentina, a united front of the voices of religious organizations and people of faith should demand that public officials be held accountable and work to improve the lives of their most vulnerable citizens. 

This sentiment was elegantly encapsulated by the words of a Colombian delegate to the Interfaith Forum: "Una misión y una visión nos unen" ("A single mission and vision unite us").