Uruguay: Information on how the police respond to reported crimes or complaints from the general public, and on reports of corruption among government officials involved in the granting of import and export business licenses, 1991-1993
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | URY12902 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Uruguay: Information on how the police respond to reported crimes or complaints from the general public, and on reports of corruption among government officials involved in the granting of import and export business licenses, 1991-1993, 1 January 1993, URY12902, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab3610.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The most detailed recent analysis of police actions currently available to the DIRB can be found in the attached section of the 1991 human rights report of the Uruguayan Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ 1992, 7-13). This document provides a text and a statistical table of the number and type of crimes from 1986 up to and including 1990, pointing out how many crimes were known to have occured or were reported, and how many were solved. Unfortunately, a translation of the SERPAJ report cannot be provided by the DIRB with this response. Other sections of the attached SERPAJ report include an overview of nine cases of deaths that occurred in prison or during police actions in 1991 and 16 reported cases of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment during the same year. As indicated in the SERPAJ report and the attached Amnesty International report, some of the cases have been cleared and authorities have been penalised. Both the SERPAJ report and the attached article from the Latin American Weekly Report indicate a steadily rising crime rate. The attached Latin American Weekly Report article also comments on a four-day police strike that took place in November 1992.
The only recent (1991-1993) report discussing corruption related to the Uruguayan export and import business is the attached article from Latinamerica Press titled "Uruguay tainted by Brazil's political scandal" (22 Oct. 1992). According to this article, Uruguayan companies were involved in a fraudulent scheme in which the former president of Brazil, Fernando Collor de Mello, was implicated. The report states that
the embarrassment [for Uruguayan president Lacalle] increased when it became public that one of the major players in the scandal was the law firm of which the Economy Minister, Ignacio de Posadas, is a member (Ibid.).
The minister's law firm apparently "advised Collor de Mello's associates on the legal aspects of contracting phony loans, a scheme that became known as the `Uruguayan alibi'," and "created hundreds of investment companies to funnel money from Argentine, Brazilian, Paraguayan and even Colombian companies through third-party ventures and financial speculation" (Ibid.). The Latinamerica Press report provides additional details on the case and states that Uruguay's banking secrecy laws are fuelling controversy and that, for some members of the Uruguayan Congress, "members of the financial community have become accomplices in the generalized corruption" (Ibid.). Finally, the source adds that critics
are now pointing out that the political and business sectors enthusiastically supporting the creation of MERCOSUR [a free-trade agreement for the Southern Cone] are the same dark forces involved in the current bi-national financial scandal (Ibid.).
It also indicates that
throughout the region, more and more political parties and grassroots organizations are denouncing the direct relationship between the rapid changes in economic policies prescribed by adherents of neo-liberal programs and the wave of corruption that is weakening democratic institutions (Ibid.).
Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
References
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 22 October 1992. Samuel Bixen. "Uruguay Tainted by Brazil's Political Scandal."
Servicio de Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ), Uruguay. 1992. Derechos Humanos en Uruguay - Informe 1991.
Attachments
Amnesty International. November 1991. Uruguay: Torture and Ill-treatment of Civilians After Six Years of Civilian Rule. (AI Index: AMR 52/01/91). London: Amnesty International Publications.
Latin American Newsletters. 3 December 1992. Latin American Weekly Report. "High Cost Solution to Police Strike" and "Personal Security." London: Latin American Newsletters.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 22 October 1992. Samuel Bixen. "Uruguay Tainted by Brazil's Political Scandal."
Servicio de Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ), Uruguay. 1992. Derechos Humanos en Uruguay - Informe 1991, pp. 7-13.
