
How to Subvert Democracy: Montesinos in Peru - wslh
http://fsi.stanford.edu/publications/how_to_subvert_democracy_montesinos_in_peru/
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wslh
"The size of the bribes indicates how much Montesinos was willing to pay to
buy off those who could have checked his power. The typical bribe paid to a
television-channel owner was about a hundred times larger than that paid to a
politician..."

Very interesting analysis, it measures the perceived power of the different
political actors.

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tbgvi
I'd guess that the reason their bribes were higher isn't because they had more
power, but because they had more money. If a politician is making 50k, a 10k
bribe would be significant. That same 10k is a drop in the bucket for a tv
station owner with millions.

~~~
rburhum
That analysis is partly true, but it is not the main reason. In Peru at the
time, whoever controlled the media controlled the thoughts of the people. The
politicians have always had a disconnect with the people, and as such, had
never carried true political weight from their voters. Ironically, the
government was so corrupt, that the job of the media was to provide the checks
and balances because they did carry more political weight than any single
politician. The main political media venues that were the most serious, had
the most integrity and stood against the government were in 1) printed form
and 2) not free. In a country that had (still has) high illiteracy rates and
where most of their population is below the poverty line, this was a problem.
TV is free, and although some people could not read, they most certainly had a
TV. Let me disclose that being the son of a politician that had to escape Per
because of Montesino's henchman and being lucky to still be alive after a
"little" failed bomb incident and various other things, I am glad that son-of-
a-bitch is rotting in a prison.

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patrickaljord
The sad thing is that Fujimori (who was Montesinos president and partner in
crime) almost got a free pass out of prison a month ago by getting his
daughter elected. Luckily half of Peruvians still have some kind of memory (I
live in Peru) and voted for her opponent.

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known
With guns, we are citizens. Without them, we are targets/subjects.

Peruvians should learn from
[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Gun_politics_...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Switzerland)

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rberger
In the US the corruptors don't have to bribe the Media. They OWN the media.
And they are working to own and control the Internet. (See ATT/T-Mobile merger
for the next step)

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seanlinmt
Is this relevant now with the spread of the Internet? As long as a government
does not filter or censor the Internet, no single entity can control
information and the news.

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silvestrov
Italy seems a very recent example (well, media was bought rather than bribed).

