What happens when a landmark anticorruption investigation, its lead prosecutors and the judge that presided over it, are found to be corrupt? What if the cure to the corruption pandemic turns out to be worse than the plague? We need only look to Brazil to see an example of this in practice.

Brazil’s anticorruption investigation Operation Lava Jato (“car wash”) has been touted by everyone from Transparency International to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption as the anticorruption model for the Third World to follow, but it has also directly contributed to the economic and political crisis the country currently finds itself.

Brazil is in the depth of the worst crisis since its return to democracy in 1985. Jair Bolsonaro, an authoritarian bigot, rules the country. His government is stacked with military men and bug-eyed zealots alike driving an agenda to systemically dismantle public services and wage a crusade against “Cultural Marxism” that includes green lighting extrajudicial murder. Brazil’s economy was tanking, unemployment was at record levels and the president was facing over 30 different impeachment measures — and that was before COVID-19.