First encounter with corruption

During my trip to the province of San Ignacio, I came across corruption for the first time. San Ignacio is the northernmost province in the Department of Cajamarca and it borders with Ecuador. It occurred to me that I could cross the border to Ecuador to renew my visa since my six months were drawing to a close. The river that marks the border between Peru and Ecuador is a mere one-and-a-half-hour taxi ride away from the city of San Ignacio, so my colleague and I hopped on a cab and rode to La Balsa. I walked the bridge that separates Peru from Ecuador and got my passport stamped: a three-month visa to Ecuador starting from October 22nd. Everything seemed nice and simple.

Then I walked back over to Peru to get a new visa, and that was when things got complicated. I could not get a visa to Peru before the Ecuadorian authorities had stamped my exit from the country. So I went back to the Ecuadorian side, and it turned out that according to some obscure law you must remain in Ecuador at least three days before you are allowed to leaver. To me, it sounded and still sounds absurd: surely many visitors desire to visit the country for only a day or two? Can Ecuador really keep foreign citizens from leaving at their will?

I still don’t know whether the officers made the rule up. One way or the other, they refused to stamp my passport and I couldn’t return to Peru. I had no time to stay in Ecuador and had left San Ignacio with only a small handbag, since we planned to return the same morning. I reasoned, pleaded, begged, and finally cried, but nothing helped. Then I called my colleague to help. He negotiated with the officers while I waited with a Peruvian police officer who showed up to offer moral support. He assured me that there would be a solution, and explained that a German gentleman residing in Tarapoto comes over every three months to renew his visa, “invites the officers to some soft drinks” and they always reach an “agreement”.

More than an hour later my colleague indeed reached an “agreement” both with the Ecuadorian officers and the Peruvian one. I left La Balsa with a stamp on my passport that said I left Ecuador and entered Peru on October 26th while it was only October 22nd. The stamp cost me US$ 40, which is more than the officers earn per day. Quite content, they wished me a pleasant stay in San Ignacio and welcomed me back anytime.

I am fully conscious of the harm that corruption does; it undermines a country’s possibilities to develop. I used to think I would never pay bribes. However, having no other way out of the mess, I was glad to pay. I told my colleague I hoped the officers would at least use the money to buy something nice for their wife or for their children. My colleague was not quite as optimistic. “They’ll spend it on booze, that’s for sure.”