LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvians vote Sunday in a referendum aimed at curbing corruption as the South American nation tries to put an end to a scourge that has landed lawmakers, judges and even former presidents behind bars.
The four questions on the ballot include measures that would prohibit legislators from immediate reelection, create stricter campaign finance rules and reform a scandal-tainted council charged with selecting judges.
All but one of the proposed measures is expected to pass in a nation where trust in elected officials is abysmally low. Yet analysts caution that the referendum isn’t an end-all fix to reverse decades of deeply entrenched political misconduct.
In recent years Peru has been jolted by the Odebrecht corruption scandal toppling the careers of some of Latin America’s highest-ranking politicians.