Transparency International releases new corruption perception index – Brazil remains stagnant

Transparency International released this week’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2020, which presents the perception of market professionals and specialists, from numerous countries, on corruption in the public sector. The index is one of the risk factors considered by companies when making decisions involving business investments. The index is measured from 0 to 100, with zero being considered a very corrupt country and 100 a non-corrupt country. In 2020, Brazil obtained 38 points against 35 in 2019, when it had the worst performance since the beginning of the historical series, in 2012. As a result, in a ranking that evaluates 180 nations, the country went from 106th position and to 94th position, improving 12 positions.

According to the index, although Brazil has risen 3 points this past year, the score does not represent a significant improvement because it is within the margin of error, which is 4 percentage points. Among the main aspects of the report, we highlight the following:

• The best countries in the ranking are Denmark and New Zealand, with a score of 88, followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, with a score of 85 each;

• The index analysis suggests that corruption diverts funds from health care investments, leaving communities without doctors, equipment and, in some cases, clinics and hospitals. Furthermore, the lack of transparency in the public sector increases the risk of corruption and leaves the crisis arising from the pandemic unanswered;

• The study points out that COVID-19 in 2020 was not just an economic and health crisis, but a corruption crisis as well;

• Corruption interferes with an equitable response to COVID-19 and other crises, which is why the report highlights the importance of transparency and anti-corruption measures in emergency situations.

Finally, the conclusions of Transparency International on Brazil were as follows:

• Political problems in the country compromise an important point in the fight against corruption in Brazil: the production of information of public interest and social control.

• With the coronavirus pandemic, attention turned to facing the unprecedented crisis. With the real need to respond urgently to the needs of society, the risks of corruption have also increased.

• No effective anti-corruption reform agenda has been supported by the government and approved by Congress in 2020.

With regard to regional analyzes focusing on the Americas, we highlight some important points:

•  With an average score of 43 for the fifth consecutive year, the Americas region represents corruption and mismanagement of funds in one of the regions most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
• Canada and Uruguay consistently have the best performance, with scores of 77 and 71 respectively, while Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela are the worst in the ranking, with scores of 22, 18 and 15 respectively.
• With a score of 71, Uruguay has the best CPI performance in Latin America. Public spending on health care is among the highest in the region. The country has a robust epidemiology surveillance system that has helped its response to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, such as yellow fever and zika.
• With a score of 67, the United States reaches its lowest position in the CPI since 2012. Management challenges to oversee the unprecedented $ 1 trillion COVID-19 “Relief Package” raised serious anti-corruption concerns and marked a significant retreat from long-standing democratic norms that promote government accountability.
• • The study also points out that an alarming concentration of power in executives in countries like Colombia (39) and El Salvador (36) has contributed to an explosion of irregularities and corruption cases associated with COVID-19. In these regions, citizens struggle to obtain reliable and up-to-date access to information on health statistics and emergency purchases.

Finally, as countries to be observed in Latin America, the study points to Peru and Honduras. With a score of 38, Peru has improved two points, but has remained relatively stagnant in the index since 2012. Investigations of corruption cases and the recent approval of the anti-corruption law represent improvements. Honduras, with 24 points, decreased by two points to reach a new low in the CPI. In the past year, Honduras has been devastated by COVID-19 and with the hurricane season in 2020, the country continues to suffer from high levels of poverty and inequality.