New global report on corruption: Latin America is sinking due to Nicaragua, Venezuela and lack of judicial independence

lack of independence of the judiciary This is one of the main problems in the fight against Corruption In Latin AmericaWhere except three the scores of all the countries are less than 50 out of 100. corruption perception index Presented by (IPC) international transparency (You).

Latin American countries that their citizens consider “”more clean, They are Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica.According to this index, only three are above 50 points, with 73, 66 and 55 points respectively. In the rest of the continent, Canada Is with 76 points; And usa And barbados69 with both.

Venezuela is at the bottom of the list as the most corruptwith 13 digits and nicaragua (17) -In the context of widespread impunity and the complete absence of independence of the judiciary – and honduras And guatemala (23).

In the middle category, although in any case below the passing mark, they are placed Cuba (42), Colombia (40), argentina (37), brazil (36), Dominican Republic And panama (35), Ecuador (3.4), peru (33), guard And Mexico (31), bolivia (29) and paraguaya (28).

TI report sheds light on Lack of judicial independence undermines the rule of law, promotes corruption and promotes impunity Of the corrupt and criminals.

In this sense, addressing this problem is essential to effectively combat corruption and guarantee the proper functioning of the system of checks and balances in a region – the Americas, which includes 32 countries. The average remains at 43adds the Berlin-based NGO.

talking about Venezuela And nicaraguaThe countries that, as in previous years, receive the worst scores, “we’re talking about dictatorship“, where there is no division of power, opacity and boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate governance”they are extremely widespreadHe told the news agency efe luciana torchiaroTI’s Americas regional advisor.

in the matter of VenezuelaHe added, The judiciary is completely dedicated to the service of the ruling class and organized crimeTherefore there is “no possibility of sanctioning corruption” in that country.

Apart from Venezuela, Torchiaro is also concerned about this matter guatemalaBeing one of the countries with the highest decline since 2012 – ten points –, mainly due to the creation of an economic and political elite in the country with three consecutive governments with corrupt practices.

He said that in Guatemala, the so-called “compromise of the corrupt” has taken over state institutions, primarily the judiciary, through various strategies to remain in power and guarantee their impunity.

He also placed his hopes on the new President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arevalowho took power withA very important anti-corruption flag,

Brazil has also seen a “regressive trend” in the fight against corruption in recent years.In which both former President Late. jair bolsonarolike the present, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, He has appointed his trusted people to key positions such as the Attorney General’s office,

chiliDespite maintaining a prominent position in the CPI due to the strength of its democratic institutions and high level of transparency, it is also considered one of the lowest among countries by TI.To watch”, its score has declined significantly since 2014.

this is due to various corruption cases Which has affected figures from almost all the main political parties and many of the most relevant institutions of the state.

However, Torchiaro was confident that the country is in a position to take leadership in this area due to stronger institutions and a better working system of checks and balances than the rest, in addition to the new national anti-corruption strategy.

Dominican Republic It is the only Latin American country that improves in the 2023 Perception Index, due to several factors, although mainly due to strengthening its judicial power through independent appointments, he highlighted.

TI emphasizes that the Americas region “There is an urgent need for a stronger and more independent judiciary Guaranteeing justice, working against impunity and combating the growth of corruption networks.”

Torchiaro also shed light responsibility of citizensThose who should demand accountability and highlight the opportunity to exercise the vote “with discretion” in this “electoral super cycle” between the elections in 2023 and the elections in the region this year and should no longer Corrupt.

It has once again topped the ranking prepared by this leading NGO in the fight against corruption denmarkwith 90 pointsand leads the measurement for the sixth year in a row, followed closely by finland And new zealand with a score of 87 And 85, respectively. Due to the good functioning of their justice systems, these countries have been leading the CPI since 2012 and also top the Rule of Law Index prepared annually by the Word Justice Project.

The ranking of the 10 most transparent is complete Norway (84), Singapore (83), Sweden (82), Switzerland (82), Netherlands (79), Germany (78) And Luxembourg (78).

somaliaWith only 11 digits; Venezuela, Syria And South Sudan, each with 13; And YemenWith 16, it ranks lowest in the index. In all cases, these countries are going through protracted crises and mostly armed conflicts. Somalia, Syria and South Sudan have, in recent years, held the worst places in the ranking of most corrupt, and Venezuela faces its lowest score since 2012When he had scored 19 marks.

According to TI’s survey, there are 23 countries – including some high-ranking democracies such as Iceland (72), the Netherlands (79), Sweden (82), and the United Kingdom (71), as well as some authoritarian states. Iran (24), Russia (26), Tajikistan (20), which this year are at historic lows,

Since 2018, in addition argentinaSignificant declines in CPI scores have been recorded in 11 other countries. The list includes low- and middle-income countries such as El Salvador (31), Honduras (23), Liberia (25), Myanmar (20), Nicaragua (17), Sri Lanka (34) and Venezuela (13). as well as for upper-middle-income economies such as Austria (71), Poland (54), Turkey (34) and the United Kingdom (71).

During the same period, eight countries showed improvement in the CPI: Ireland (77), South Korea (63), Armenia (47), Vietnam (41), Maldives (39), Moldova (42), Angola (33) and Uzbekistan. (33).

(with information from EFE)