An ICEFI study concludes that corruption in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras covers "virtually all sectors" and in Guatemala alone, the losses generated are estimated at $550 million per year.
The book "Corruption: Its Paths and Impact on Society and an Agenda to Confront it in the Central American North Triangle", "... studies the relationship between corruption and democracy, highlighting that corruption in the C.A.N.T -El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras - has special characteristics derived from historical aspects, such as the construction of weak states, periods of authoritarianism, civil war and counterinsurgency systems, and the impairment of judicial independence."
"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."
The public sector felt to be the most corrupt is still Nicaragua (transparency level 26 on a scale from 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (28), Honduras (30), El Salvador (36), Panama (38) and Costa Rica (58).
In 2016 the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all Central American countries except Guatemala, where it remained as in 2015 and in Costa Rica, where it fell.
The choice of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States is another clear example of how the deterioration of liberal democracies enlightens the way for the emergence of authoritarian leaders.
EDITORIAL
(Both the article by Kevin Casas on Nacion.com as well as this editorial prologue on CentralAmericaData.com were written one day before the presidential election in the United States, when the prognosis was that Hillary Clinton had a more than 80% chance of win the election.)
According to Fitch Ratings the reelection of Daniel Ortega as president of Nicaragua means stability in the country's economic policies.
EDITORIAL
Stability and economic and political continuity is what Fitch Ratings envisages for Nicaragua after the outcome of the presidential elections last Sunday, in which President Daniel Ortega was declared the winner, with 70% of the vote, according to a report by the Supreme Electoral Council.
The vast majority of nicaraguans intend to vote for the re-election of the current President, Daniel Ortega, which would ensure the continuity of the current policies used to run the country.
EDITORIAL
Confirming what has been published by other pollsters,M & R Consultoresnotes that the results of its seventh national survey put the clear favorite to win the presidential election as Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, who accordingtothis survey now have 66.3% of the vote. The nearest contender has only 8% of the vote, while the so-called hidden vote is 20.6%.
No changes in the economic or political direction are foreseen in a country where President Ortega maintains high public approval rates in a context of economic growth, although there is erosion of democratic institutions.
On Tuesday June 9 a panel discussion was held in the premises of the Inter American Dialogue in Washington DC, whose main topic was the analysis of the economic and political situation in Nicaragua.
"Civil service careers are influenced by arbitrariness, politicization, patronage, the search for private profit and patronage criteria and with posts being filling up with public servants who do not have the sufficient merits to perform their functions."
From a statement issued by the Salvadoran Foundation for Development (FUSADES), regarding the report The Civil Service and Patronage:
The 3rd Summit of the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean resulted in an expected collection of platitudes which can be summarized by everyone willing to "be rich and healthy and not poor and sick", plus a media show of diplomatic excesses.
EDITORIAL
The meeting was attended by all the leaders who were able to, obviously not because they expected to accomplish anyhing that might benefit the people of their respective countries, but simply because "you have to be there".
"Murillo and Ortega together are forging a level of control that political observers say holds echoes of the sort of family dynasty that the Sandinista Front once took up arms to topple."
"Dynasty," is how the U.S. Newspaper Kansas City describes the government of Daniel Ortega and in which it discusses the influential role played by his wife Rosario Murillo in every government decision.
While Nicaragua and Panama have sustainable levels of public debt, for El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica the prognosis is "reserved" .
Recent analysis by the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi) reflects very different fiscal situations in each country.
An article in Prensalibre.com states that "data from the report indicates that the country with the greatest debt is El Salvador, as in 2011 it reached 50% of GDP, in 2012 it increased to 52% and it is expected to reach about 54% in 2013.
The Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies has concluded that only the public debts of Panama and Nicaragua, using official data, are sustainable in the medium term.
The main theme of the fifth edition of the 'Lente Fiscal Centroamericano' (Central American Fiscal Lens) is an analysis of debt sustainability in Central America, which depends greatly on interest payments on debt, economic growth, inflation, revaluation and management of the fiscal deficit.
Leaders of business associations in the region have indicated that governmental arbitrariness is interfering in Central America’s development.
A statement from the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America (FECAMCO) reads:
Business organizations in the region which make up the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Central America (FECAMCO) when meeting in Miami, Florida, USA, expressed their "great concern" about the institutional crisis in El Salvador, which they described as an "assault on the rule of law."
Poverty in Costa Rica has not fallen below 20% in two decades, confirming the validity of the adage "instead of giving fish, teach people to fish."
The liberal idea that instead of supporting the poor with large and ineffective welfare programs, it is better to give them the means to improve their lives themselves, remains in force, and a good example of the ineffectiveness of the welfarism practiced by the traditional political class is the "bloated welfare state" of Costa Rica, argues Juan Carlos Hidalgo, project coordinator for Latin America at the Cato Institute.