In some countries, the military record has been better than that of civilian officials in terms of corruption. Corruption still prevails, even with the return of civilians to power in most Latin American countries over the past decade. The tendency toward corruption is fueled by the Latin tradition of impunity, the problem of corruption is associated with both political parties and government officials, and electoral systems are not conducive to party accountability. In many cases, the judicial system has become contaminated by corruption and scandal. To effectively deal with corruption and foster democracy, political systems in Latin America need to become more responsive so that fear of retribution by the people will change the corrupt behavior of government officials. 7 references