Construction and Corruption in Latin America: The Role of Megaprojects Abating Government Legitimacy

Abstract

Corruption has always been present in construction on different levels and scales, no matter where building infrastructure occurs. In Latin America, the cultural context emanating from the consolidation of democracies appears to have avoided the provision of good governance and the stability of institutional Legitimacy. This research intends to show that when there are large-scale construction projects or megaprojects, there is an augmentation in the activities that conduce to government corruption. The question is, what are the conditions that contribute to increasing government corruption in Latin America? Furthermore, a purpose equally important is to demonstrate that politicians sometimes abuse institutional Legitimacy by hiding behind this imaginary shield to collude in corruption. They achieve this by controlling popular public opinion while simultaneously eroding the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances mechanisms to circumvent the law. This qualitative research is a multiple case study using secondary data from academic and specialized journalism articles published in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and other Latin American countries during the last fifteen years. The coding technique detected striking power features to compel theory: Government corruption goes hand in hand with grand construction, particularly when institutions' Legitimacy suffers manipulation.