The NGO presented its annual report on democracy on Tuesday.
According to the annual report of Transparency International (TI), Latin America has been “totally stagnant” for ten years in its fight against corruption, which undermines democracy and human rights, and there are alarming setbacks in Venezuela and Central American countries.
“Corrupt leaders target activists and consolidate their power, while attacking the rights of the press, freedom of expression and freedom of association,” denounced Delia Ferreira Rubio, president of this NGO.
Since 1995, TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index has ranked 180 countries and territories on a scale of zero (very corrupt) to one hundred (very clean).
Denmark (88), Finland (88) and New Zealand (88) are the least corrupt countries in the world, according to this report, and Somalia (13), Syria (13) and South Sudan (11) have the highest corruption rates. elevated.
Very close to these war-torn countries is Venezuela (14), whose grade, the worst in Latin America, has not stopped getting worse since 2013 and where “great corruption causes serious violations of social rights, including education, health and food.”
TI also warns that the Venezuelan judicial system has lost its independence and “has become an instrument of repression against dissidence” and “human rights violations are made invisible and remain unpunished.”
The NGO laments that despite the existence of abundant laws on the subject and a regional commitment to act against this scourge, “corruption continues to weaken democracy and human rights” in the region and “forceful action is needed to reverse this trend.” and protect civil society, insists the organization.
In its 2021 overview photo, TI criticizes that some presidents, such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil or Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, used the fight against corruption as a campaign banner to attract an electorate disappointed with traditional politicians and “tired of the corruption”.
But these leaders “have not presented progress in their fight against corruption and have taken anti-democratic” and “regressive” measures.
“The more democracy and the more effective enjoyment of fundamental rights, the more difficult it is for corruption to flourish,” warns Luciana Torchuaro, head of the organization for Latin America.
In Latin America, the best rated country is Uruguay (73), “an example of how the stability and soundness of democratic institutions (…) are key to preventing corruption from permeating public institutions,” says TI, considering that this institutional context has allowed the country to deal more effectively with the coronavirus pandemic.
The last on the list are, in addition to Venezuela, Nicaragua (20), Haiti (20) and Honduras (23).
Argentina (39) was the country in the region that regressed the most (four points) in 2021, due to the interference of political power in justice and “the abuses of power” during the pandemic, such as a preferential vaccination for officials and relatives or purchases and contracts “not very transparent”.
Central America, at its lowest point
In Central America, the fight against corruption is at an all-time low, says TI.
Nicaragua is the most flagrant example. The country “does not have the transparency and counterweight to the Executive necessary to combat corruption,” according to the NGO.
The concentration of power in the hands of President Daniel Ortega, re-elected in November, and his wife, Rosario Murillo, “has allowed the government to violate human rights and mock the electoral system,” says TI.
Honduras (23) is not far behind. Since 2015, it has lost seven points on the list and its outgoing president, Juan Orlando Hernández, has been accused of drug trafficking. TI highlights the coming to power of the leftist Xiomara Castro, who promised to eliminate the “laws of impunity”.
The situation in Guatemala (25) is also worrying, where economic and political elites and even “organized crime” sectors have appropriated the judiciary and “have forced prosecutors and judges known for fighting corruption into exile.”
Finally, authoritarianism also threatens El Salvador (34), according to TI, where the government takes measures that undermine the independence of the judiciary. In addition, senior executive officials are suspected of participating in “multi-million dollar corruption schemes” linked to funds earmarked for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. (I)
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