CORRUPTION CONSOLIDATION IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: NETWORKS, OPACITY, AND GOVERNANCE FAILURES

This article examines the consolidation of corruption in local governments through a case study of Operation “Bad Paths” in Manaus, Brazil. Using a theoretical framework that integrates networks, organizational mechanisms, opacity, and checks and balances, the study explains how systemic vulnerabilities enable corruption to become embedded and selfsustaining within governance systems. The analysis, grounded in legal and prosecutorial findings, highlights how public-private networks exploited weakoversight and simulated transparency to divert over 100 million Reais in health funds, exacerbating governance failures. Departing from traditional top-down anti-corruption strategies, this study introduces an innovative framework to understand local corruption through its unique socio-political and institutional contexts.