lilley: peruvian mayor issues warning about making carney canada's pm
the mayor of lima, peru, has a message to canadians: th...
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the mayor of lima, peru, has a message to canadians: think twice before making mark carney your prime minister.
mayor lopez aliaga says based on carney’s actions when he was chairman of brookfield asset management, there should be serious questions asked about carney’s character. in an interview from lima, aliaga said brookfield, chaired by carney, was “making massive profits off a toxic contract” plagued by bribes.
“canadians need to know the way brookfield, under mr. mark carney, operates here. they need to know how they obtain money from the suffering of poor people,” aliaga said.
the municipality of lima is currently suing brookfield in a new york city court. it’s part of an ongoing legal battle that has been going on for years.
mayor lopez aliaga (facebook)
brookfield is on the record denying all allegations of impropriety in this court case and other legal actions in peru. carney, meanwhile, is no longer chair of brookfield, having stepped down in january when he announced his bid to become leader of the liberal party.
aliaga acknowledged that carney is no longer at brookfield but says it’s a question of character that voters need to consider.
brookfield bought a 57% interest in the concession rights for the rutas de limas road project in 2016 from odebrecht sa, a brazilian engineering giant. odebrecht was selling off assets amid a corruption scandal over bribes and kickbacks in their native brazil and in several other countries across south america and the caribbean.
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this purchase came years before carney joined brookfield in 2020.
in their lawsuit, the municipality argues that brookfield knew about the corrupt practices that odebrecht engaged in to obtain the ruts de lima concession rights, including bribery, and that brookfield now profits off this tainted contract. the purchase of the 57% stake in the road network came just months before a (us)$3.5 billion guilty plea agreement that obebrecht made with the u.s. department of justice in december 2016. brookfield denies it new about the alleged corrupt practices.
“the people that live in the poorest area of lima,” aliaga said, “were paying tolls that amount to one-third of the monthly income.”
according to reuters, it costs (us)$1.49 to use the only highway that connects populous shantytowns and working-class districts on the outskirts of northern lima with the city’s centre. the minimum wage in peru is (us)$252 a month.
he said it is shocking to him that a company listed on the new york stock exchange operates in this fashion and that someone like carney was associated with it.
“they are obtaining money from the poorest people in peru,” he said.
in january 2017, shortly after brookfield bought the rights to the concession, protests about the high tolls ended with riot police dragging protesters away. there have been ongoing complaints about the high tolls imposed on residents living in the poorest areas.
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the tolls not only impact motorists, it drives up cab and bus fares, as well.
aliaga said that imposing such high tolls on the poorest people in peru is a violation of human rights, but the contract that was obtained through bribes and then purchased by brookfield continues to hurt the poorest of the poor.
“mr. carney needs to explain to canadian citizens, what is his role in latin america and in particular, peru,” he said.
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