In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato
This article identifies four frames of corruption in the discourse of three leaders of Operation Lava Jato, also known in English as Operation Car Wash, a large-scale Brazilian anticorruption operation (2014–2021). These frames are inequality, hidden pact, backwardness, and chronic disease. The fram...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Latin American Research Review |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427824000610/type/journal_article |
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| author | Mario Luis Grangeia Joris Alberdingk Thijm |
| author_facet | Mario Luis Grangeia Joris Alberdingk Thijm |
| author_sort | Mario Luis Grangeia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article identifies four frames of corruption in the discourse of three leaders of Operation Lava Jato, also known in English as Operation Car Wash, a large-scale Brazilian anticorruption operation (2014–2021). These frames are inequality, hidden pact, backwardness, and chronic disease. The frames were identified by analyzing a wide set of press interviews, opinion articles, and books by two prosecutors and one judge whose work has revealed scandals involving the state oil company Petrobras. The operation had a major impact on politics and the economy and left a controversial legacy. We noticed a contradiction between one frame invoking judicial activism (inequality) and three frames focusing on specific techniques that appeal to a more conventional view on the judiciary’s role (hidden pact, backwardness, and chronic disease). Furthermore, even when scholars were still largely positive about the operation, the discourse showed signs of judicial activism. This analysis contributes to the debate on Lava Jato and judicial activism by focusing on discourse rather than action. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c10e81c7c18d4238af3a0280f2d7b30c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-4278 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Latin American Research Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-c10e81c7c18d4238af3a0280f2d7b30c2025-08-20T03:30:57ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review1542-42782025-06-016023525510.1017/lar.2024.61In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava JatoMario Luis Grangeia0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9541-0517Joris Alberdingk Thijm1Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, Geneva, SwitzerlandUniversity of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalThis article identifies four frames of corruption in the discourse of three leaders of Operation Lava Jato, also known in English as Operation Car Wash, a large-scale Brazilian anticorruption operation (2014–2021). These frames are inequality, hidden pact, backwardness, and chronic disease. The frames were identified by analyzing a wide set of press interviews, opinion articles, and books by two prosecutors and one judge whose work has revealed scandals involving the state oil company Petrobras. The operation had a major impact on politics and the economy and left a controversial legacy. We noticed a contradiction between one frame invoking judicial activism (inequality) and three frames focusing on specific techniques that appeal to a more conventional view on the judiciary’s role (hidden pact, backwardness, and chronic disease). Furthermore, even when scholars were still largely positive about the operation, the discourse showed signs of judicial activism. This analysis contributes to the debate on Lava Jato and judicial activism by focusing on discourse rather than action.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427824000610/type/journal_articlecorruptionframe analysisLava Jatojudicial activismBrazilcorrupçãoanálise de enquadramentoLava Jatoativismo judicialBrasil |
| spellingShingle | Mario Luis Grangeia Joris Alberdingk Thijm In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato Latin American Research Review corruption frame analysis Lava Jato judicial activism Brazil corrupção análise de enquadramento Lava Jato ativismo judicial Brasil |
| title | In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato |
| title_full | In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato |
| title_fullStr | In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato |
| title_full_unstemmed | In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato |
| title_short | In the Name of Integrity? Anticorruption Discourse of Brazilian Operation Lava Jato |
| title_sort | in the name of integrity anticorruption discourse of brazilian operation lava jato |
| topic | corruption frame analysis Lava Jato judicial activism Brazil corrupção análise de enquadramento Lava Jato ativismo judicial Brasil |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1542427824000610/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marioluisgrangeia inthenameofintegrityanticorruptiondiscourseofbrazilianoperationlavajato AT jorisalberdingkthijm inthenameofintegrityanticorruptiondiscourseofbrazilianoperationlavajato |