The tools of Latin American countries to fight corruption are increasingly precarious. In fact, a setback is observed in that battle.
This is the main conclusion of the Capacity to Combat Corruption Index (CCC), carried out for the fifth consecutive year. The study was published for the first time in 2019 and instead of determining the degree of corruption in each country, assesses its effectiveness in detecting, punishing, and preventing corrupt activities.
In the assessment, conducted by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) and Control Risks, The countries with the highest score (out of 10) are those with the best internal mechanisms to prosecute and punish the corrupt. The study, released by Americas Quarterly, reveals that the Index registered a decrease in the region for the first time since 2020 in 10 of the 15 countries studied.
Uruguay, with 6.99 out of 10, is the country with the highest score, according to the report. They are followed, in order, by Costa Rica (6.76), Chile (6.67), Peru (5.53), the Dominican Republic (5.42) and Panama (5.39).
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Then there are Argentina (5.07), Brazil (4.83), Colombia (4.78), Ecuador (4.68), Paraguay (4.61), Mexico (3.87), Guatemala (2.86) , Bolivia (2.56) and, at the bottom of the list, Venezuela (1.46).
The report warns that the CCC Index disclosure is not intended “to shame or discriminate against countries, but rather to foster a policy-based debate, helping governments, civil society and the private sector to identify—through data and a methodology solid— the areas of success and the gaps that need to be addressed”.
The study determined that the setbacks occurred both in the countries located at the top of the table and those that are in the last places.
Uruguay, for example, went from 7.42 in 2022 to 6.99 this year, like Costa Rica, whose score in 2022 was 7.11 and fell to 6.76.
“The index shows what many of us have felt: anti-corruption efforts are losing momentum in many Latin American countries”
“The index shows what many of us have felt: anti-corruption efforts are losing momentum in many Latin American countries, despite the fact that the issue remains a priority for voters,” says Brian Winter, Vice President of Policy at AS / COA.
The report ensures that impunity is more likely to be a long-lasting phenomenon in countries at the lower end of the scale. In this case, the study draws attention to two countries: Guatemala, which in 2022 had a score of 3.38 and dropped this year to 2.86, and Venezuela, which went from a precarious 1.63 to 1.46.
‘Under pressure’
“The story is familiar: democracies are under pressure, as well as many of the independent institutions that are key to preventing and punishing corruption. What we are generally seeing is more of a slow erosion than a sudden collapse, so there is hope that these trends could be reversed in the medium term,” adds Winter.
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One of the results that the study shows and that is striking is that both Guatemala (which went from 4.04 in 2020 to 2.86 in 2023) and Mexico (from 4.55 in 2020 to 3.87 in 2023) they are the only two countries of the 15 analyzed whose overall scores have decreased each year from when the Index was first published.
On the contrary, The report highlights the progress of some countries, such as Panama, which shows a fundamental improvement each year since the measurement began (4.17 in 2020; 4.55 in 2021; 4.96 in 2022 and 5.39 in 2023).
“Businesses and other stakeholders have an increasing responsibility to promote transparent and ethical business practices”
The proportional increase in Panama’s overall score was driven mainly by improvements in the capacity of its legal system, the study points out.
The overall results, the report notes, indicate that no country is immune to stagnation or setbacks in the fight against corruptionalthough he explains that in many countries, “other challenges such as violent crime, the slow economic recovery after the pandemic and concerns about democratic setbacks have become more important priorities for governments, the media and civil society” .
“With anti-corruption efforts across the region stalled, if not in decline, companies and other stakeholders have an increasing responsibility to promote transparent and ethical business practices,” says Geert Aalbers, partner at Control Risks.
To determine the effectiveness of a country in combating corruption, the CCC Index studies 14 key variables, including the independence of judicial institutionsthe strength of investigative journalism and the resources available to countries to combat so-called white-collar crime.
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“The Index is based on extensive data and a proprietary survey of Control Risks’ leading anti-corruption experts, from academia, civil society, the media and the private sector,” the report says. , and adds that for the fourth consecutive year The study analyzes 15 countries, which together represent 96% of Latin America’s GDP.
section of Colombia
In the CCC Index 2023, Colombia’s score shows relative stability, down 2% (from 4.87% in 2022 to 4.78 this year). The country went from eighth to ninth place in the general classification.
The report explains that Colombia’s score fell, mainly, to the analyze the category of civil society and the media (7%), and the legal capacity (2%). And in the first place this, says the report, would be due to the fact that the focus, after the pandemic, has been on other issues.
In relation to this category, Laura Lizarazo, an analyst at Control Risks, clarifies that the overall deterioration of Colombia’s score in 2023 was marginal, barely 2% (similar to the aggregate declines in 2022 and 2021). “This does not indicate a pronounced erosion of Colombia’s capacities to combat corruption, nor the inaction or ineffectiveness of the actors involved in it. Ratheris a sign of the relative stagnation or loss of dynamism of these efforts, that are still insufficient to prevent, detect, control or punish these practices”, he says.
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Colombia, according to the CCC Index, although it reversed a negative trend in terms of the score in the category of democracy and political institutions that showed a prudent improvement (4.58), continues to be behind the regional average in this category.
The study also deals with the development of the current government of President Gustavo Petro, in office since August 2022, and the promises he made in the campaign related to the fight against corruption.
The report notes that President Petro “made the fight against corruption a key element of his presidential campaign, but so far it has not translated these statements into a clear anti-corruption strategy.” He maintains that the current administration has poured all its political capital into promoting other priorities, “such as its ‘total peace’ initiative and important regulatory reforms in key sectors such as health, work and pensions.”
The study also does not overlook the increase in tensions between Petro and the attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, and he recalled the famous incident, which was heated through social networks, Petro’s preferred medium to marry debates and fights, in which the President publicly stated that, as head of state, he was the head of prosecutor Barbosa.
“In response,” says the report, “ Barbosa said that the statement threatened judicial independence.. And the Cortes backed him in this.
Likewise, the study draws attention to the accusations of corruption that have reached the President and his inner circle.
“The Attorney General’s Office announced investigations into Petro’s son and brother for allegedly accepting irregular payments. Both have denied wrongdoing. In June, the Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation regarding the financing of the 2022 campaign of Petro, who denied having committed irregularities”points out.
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Similarly, it highlights that, in October 2022, the Colombian Congress ratified the Escazú Agreement, which strengthens access to information and transparency in the management of funds for environmental protection, as well as to the protection of informants.
Remember the report that Global Witness recorded 65 murders of environmental defenders in Colombia in 2020.
Finally, the study on the CCC Index 2023 points out several temas that he describes as “critical” and that he asks to monitor.
One of them, the National Development Plan (PND) presented by the Petro government and approved by the Colombian Congress in May. The PND is the road map of the public policies of the National Government, within which are included the initiatives that are related to the fight against corruption.
It also calls for special attention to the ongoing investigations into bribery in exchange for public works contracts by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. In February 2023, the Attorney General announced that 16 other people were connected to the case.
SUNDAY EDITORIAL
TIME
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