Corruption continues to be a challenge in Latin America and is consolidated as the main concern of most people in the region. This was confirmed by the latest result of the 2023 Capacity to Combat Corruption Index (CCC), carried out by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) and Control Risks.
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It should be noted that the index examines 14 key variables, such as the independence of judicial institutions, the strength of investigative journalism and the amount of resources available to combat white collar crime. “For the fourth consecutive year, the index covers 15 countries, which together represent 96% of Latin America’s GDP,” the report highlights.
According to the document with democracies and fundamental institutions under pressure in the region, the Index recorded a decrease in the region’s average score for the first time since 2020, presenting a score of 4.77 out of ten, compared to 4.85 in 2022.
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Thus, among the main findings, it was established that two of the 15 countries experienced significant declines in their scores by 2023and one country experienced substantial improvement.
The country with the highest score in the 2023 CCC Index is Uruguay (6.99 out of 10). This country is followed by Costa Rica (6.76), Chile (6.67), Peru (5.53), Dominican Republic (5.42), Panama (5.39), 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 Venezuela ( 1.46).
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However, in the breakdown by country, it is evident that Uruguay once again ranked first in the index“although it registered a consecutive year of decline”, the entities highlight. This nation had a 6% drop in its overall score.
Likewise, despite the moderate losses, Costa Rica and Chile also kept the second and third position, but had falls of 5% and 3%, respectively in their overall score.
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For his part, the largest increase was in Panama with 9%, driven by improvements in its legal capacitybeing one of the countries along with the Dominican Republic (4%) and Paraguay (4%) that improved their overall score for the third consecutive year.
“Guatemala and Venezuela each had substantial declines in their overall scores. Guatemala and Mexico are the only two countries whose overall scores have declined every year since the Index was first published in 2019.”, they assure.
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According to Brian Winter, AS/COA Policy Chair, “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.”.
Similarly, Geert AAlbers, a partner at Contral Risks, explained that “with anti-corruption efforts across the region stagnating, if not regressing, companies and other stakeholders have an increasing responsibility to promote transparent and ethical business practices“.
According to the AS/COA and Control Risks report, Colombia remained relatively stable with a 2% decline in its overall scorea fact that caused it to go from eighth to ninth place, registering a score of 4.78 out of 10 in 2023.
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Colombia’s score fell mostly in the civil society and media category at 7%), followed by legal capacity at 2%). They assure that there was a moderate improvement in the category of democracy and political institutions, reversing a previous downward trendbut “Colombia is still behind the regional average in this category”.
Finally, the entities suggest that hehe critical issues to monitor are the National Development Plan of the Petrowhich Congress approved in May, which “will guide the public policies of the national government, including those related to the fight against corruption.”
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Likewise, “investigations will continue into bribery in exchange for public works contracts from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. In February 2023, the Attorney General announced that 16 other people were connected to the case.”, they affirm.
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