Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti, the most corrupt countries in the Americas, according to Transparency International

The corruption It continues to be a predominant problem and without any kind of improvement for more than five years in the vast majority of countries in the Americas, warns a report published Tuesday by the organization Transparency International. Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua appear to be the most corrupt nations in the region.

Uruguay and Canada, on the other hand, appear to be the least corrupt countriesfollowed by the United States.

The average Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2022 score in the region is 43 points, out of a total of 100, and nearly two-thirds of countries score less than 50 points. 27 of the 32 countries in the Americas have seen no progress since 2016said Transparency International in its annual report.

Created in 1995, the index ranks 180 countries and territories based on perceptions of the level of corruption in the public sector. Use a scale that goes from zero, for the most corrupt, to 100, for the least corrupt. For its preparation, Transparency uses information from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private consultants and experts.

Recoil

“I am very concerned as I see the Latin American region in sharp decline,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, president of Transparency International.

“What we see is an increase in authoritarianism, an increase in populist governments that come through elections and attack democracy from within by attacking the judiciary, control agencies, the media, organized citizens, the opposition,” he said. added, in a telephone interview with Associated press from Berlin.

Uruguay and Canada are the least corrupt countries in the region, with 74 points. The United States follows, with 69 points. Venezuela, on the other hand, appears to be the most corrupt, with 14 points, followed by Haiti, with 17; and Nicaragua with 19.

Chile and Costa Ricawhich has traditionally achieved the best performance in the index of Latin American countries, they do not prioritize the fight against corruptionand they remain in the same position, with 67 and 54 points respectively, according to the report.

Colombia has 39 points, Brazil 38, Peru and Ecuador 36, El Salvador 33, Dominican Republic 32, Mexico 31, Honduras 23.

The fight against corruption is also not a global priority task: 95% of all countries have made little or no progress since 2017, according to Transparency International.

Corruption and violence

The organization, based in the German capital, points out that there is a close relationship between violence and corruption.

The most corrupt governments lack the ability to protect the peopleand, in turn, in these contexts, public discontent is more likely to lead to violence, Transparencia stressed. You explained what happens from Sudan to Brazil.

The scores assigned by the index, which has become one of the leading indicators of corruption in the public sector worldwide, reflect the perspectives of experts and businessmen.

For the 11th consecutive year, 43 of the world’s countries remain unchanged, with over two-thirds scoring below 50.

Denmark appears as the least corrupt country, with a score of 90, followed by Finland and New Zealand, with 87 points each. Sudan and Somalia appear among the most corrupt, with indexes of 13 points.

Meanwhile, Guatemala is one of the 26 countries that have reached an all-time low, with 24 points. Others are Qatar, with 58, and the UK, with 73.

Among those that have fallen the most are Honduras, which appears with 23 units, Nicaragua, with 19, and Haiti, with 17.

In America, countries have not taken strong measures fight corruption and strengthen public institutions, which has favored the consolidation of criminal networks who wield considerable power over political actors, the report said. This, in turn, deepens the violence, he noted.

To respond to such crime and gang violence, some governments have implemented measures that concentrate control in the executive branch, thereby weakening transparency, threatening human rights and encouraging more opportunities for corruption, he explained.

The pervasiveness of corruption in the Americas fuels many other crises the region is experiencing, said Ferreira Rubio. The only way forward is for leaders to prioritize anti-corruption measures to eradicate it and enable governments to fulfill their primary role, which is to protect the people.

Source: AP

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