Page 6 - CORRUPTION LATAM

MONTT GROUP MAGAZINE - 2024 www.MONTTGROUP.cOM
CovER sToRy
between corruption and coMpLiance
Latin america is one of the most corrupt regions in the West, according to transparency internationaL. hoWever, progressiveLy the enactment of
severaL LaWs in the region is giving rise to interest in compLiance, Which is becoming an efficient tooL against this scourge.
The cost of corruption on the planet is equivalent to approximately five percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which corresponds to 2,6 trillion dollars, according to figures provided by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac ). Furthermore, the World Economic Forum indicates that more than a trillion dollars is paid in bribes alone.
In Latin America itself, around US$140 billion is lost each year due to corruption in many systems, which equals to about three percent of regional GDP, as establishes the Global Financial Integrity, a Washington, DC-based think-tank focused on financial flows, illicit trade and money laundering.
What’s more, the Transparency International organization maintains that Latin America, in its most recent Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 2023, remains unchanged at 43 points, where two thirds of the countries have a score of less than 50 out of 100, that indicates that the Region continues to face serious challenges in the fight against this crime.
“The lack of independence of the Judiciary is
one of the main problems. This weakens the rule of law and promotes impunity for the powerful and criminals to the detriment of people and the common good,” the report adds.
The document establishes that, despite everything, Canada (76) and Uruguay (73) are at the top of the regional ranking and that, in the last decade, only two countries in the region, Guyana (40) and the Dominican Republic (35 ) improved their scores. All others stagnated or deteriorated significantly. Venezuela is the most corrupt in the entire Region (13), along with Haiti (17) and Nicaragua (17), with the lowest results. Regarding Brazil (36), it is indicated that: “The independence of the justice system has had significant setbacks for almost a decade; the participation of important figures of Operation Lava Jato, including the main judge and prosecutor, in the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro seriously called into question the independence of the Judiciary and the investigation itself. Although Lava Jato celebrated its tenth anniversary this year and has the undeniable merit of exposing huge corruption schemes, it is also the target of criticism for compromising its impartiality. On the other hand, both former President Bolsonaro and the current President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva evaded processes to increase the legitimacy and independence of the Judiciary by appointing his own trusted people to the role of Attorney General.” Likewise, Peru (33) and Ecuador (34) fell three and two points, respectively, compared to the previous year. In the first country “the increasing
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