"I have a clear conscience." So said the former President of Peru, Alan Garcia Perez, now a Senator for Life, before the Chamber of Deputies mustered a narrow majority last week to begin proceedings to lift his congressional immunity from prosecution on charges that he embezzled $500,000 from public coffers and evaded taxes.
Doubt was first cast on Garcia last April when House Deputy Fernando Olivera charged that Garcia had stolen $50 million from the treasury while serving as President. Olivera maintained that Garcia channeled the funds through the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Olivera's charges have yet to be...