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[Global corruption report 2001] south america
Luzzani, Telma
Luzzani, Telma
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rr_s_america.pdf
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Abstract
Corruption in South America is fuelled by inadequate laws, irreverence for the law even when it is adequate, and the impunity of those who are corrupt. In many countries in the region, public administration controls are weak and politicised, and the capacity of law enforcement and the judiciary are uneven. This translates into low credibility of institutions and the perception that ‘anything goes’. According to the Colombian scholar Alvaro Camacho Guizado, Latin America has yet to end the double curse whereby institutional weakness serves as a cover or conduit for corruption while, at the same time, ‘corruption contributes to the deterioration of the institutional, legal and ethical basis of the state’.2 The struggle against corruption in South America emerged with the end of the Cold War, when communism ceased to be the overarching political concern on the continent. Corruption did not necessarily worsen in the 1990s, Professor Juan Gabriel Tokatlian of the University of San Andrés in Buenos Aires pointed out,3 but it certainly became more visible, as both democracy and corruption captured news headlines as never before.4 Another crucial factor that has motivated the fight against corruption is the growing awareness that corruption perpetuates poverty. The Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) César Gaviria asserted that ‘in those countries with increasing levels of poverty, corruption is certainly getting worse and running rampant’.5 New research has documented the costs of corruption. Government estimates placed the cost to Colombia at 1 per cent of its annual GDP, or around US $6,100 per head of population.6 A study by economists in Brazil estimated the yearly losses due to corruption at US $6,000 per capita.7 With corruption now prominent on both policy and public agendas, expectations are high that improvements are on the way, though scepticism lingers. The state institutions established in South America to counter corruption have to overcome this scepticism. With greater resources, an active network of NGOs and a vigorous independent media, the fight against corruption showed signs of progress in 2000–01, though results varied from country to country.
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2001
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393571100X
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With permission of the license/copyright holder