In 2019, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all countries of the region except Costa Rica, where it remained the same as in 2018.
As has been the case in recent years, Nicaragua's public sector continues to be perceived as the most corrupt in the region (transparency level 22 on a scale of 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (26), Honduras (26), Dominican Republic (28), El Salvador (34), Panama (36), and Costa Rica (56).
The Dominican Republic, Panama and Honduras are the nations in the region where the majority of the population believes that corruption in government institutions has increased in the last twelve months.
The report "Barómetro Global de la Corrupción: América Latina y El Caribe 2019 - Opiniones y Experiencias de los ciudadanos en materia de corrupción" (Global Corruption Barometer: Latin America and the Caribbean 2019 - Opinions and Experiences of Citizens on Corruption), compiled by Transparency International and published on September 23, 2019, evaluated the perception of corruption in the countries of the region and some aspects of insecurity.
In 2018, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all countries in the region, except Panama, where it remained the same as in 2017, and El Salvador, where it slightly decreased.
As in previous years, Nicaragua's public sector continues to be considered the most corrupt in the region (level of transparency 25 on a scale of 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (27), Honduras (29), El Salvador (35), Panama (37), and Costa Rica (56).
In 2017, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all of the countries in the region, with the exception of Guatemala and Nicaragua, where it remained the same as in 2016, and in Costa Rica, where it decreased slightly.
The public sector still perceives Nicaragua to be the most corrupt country (transparency level 26 on a scale from 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (28), Honduras (29), El Salvador (33), Panama (37) and Costa Rica (59).
"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion–when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing–when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors–when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you–when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed."
Following revelations about corruption at the highest level and the processing of those involved, it is unlikely that an official will request bribe money from a businessman.
EDITORIAL
Some analysts are concerned about the effect of allegations of corruption in Guatemala, noting that it will increase mistrust and the instability in economic activity, which could even have a negative effect because of the greater weight of the Guatemalan economy in Central America, over other countries in the region.
In Central America, the public sector perceives Nicaragua as the most corrupt country (transparency level 28 on a scale of 0-100), followed by Honduras (29), Guatemala (32), Panama (37), El Salvador (39), and Costa Rica (54).
"... When leaders and senior officials abuse their power by using public funds for personal gain, economic growth is undermined ... "- Transparency International
The Guatemalan President lamented the existence of a legal difficulty in dismissing middle managers who benefit from the institutional protection of unions.
President Otto Perez Molina told Lahora.com.gt that "... there have been changes in personnel in strategic locations and 'its about making a change ...There are unions and workers who are already permanent, it really becomes an ordeal; I think the best thing is that control systems do not allow discretion and prevent corruption. '"
The Chamber of Industry of Guatemala has requested that Congress approve reforms to laws which prevent or reduce corruption and to punish public officials involved in such acts.
From a press release issued by the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF):
As part of the site visit scheduled for this day, regarding the evaluation of Guatemala in the Follow-up Mechanism to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC-OAS), the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG) participated with a presentation on "Cooperation between the private sector and the supervisory bodies in efforts to prevent and combat corruption."
Making sure that top public officials declare their assets and income is vital for stopping corruption in public affairs.
A statement by the World Bank reads:
Disclosure by public officials of their income, assets and interests should be mandated if the fight against corruption is to succeed, according to a study released today by the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative of the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
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