Corruption perception indices in Nicaragua are the worst in Central America, and have worsened since 2012, during the government of Daniel Ortega, reveals the latest report from the Transparency International (TI) organization.
The study, called the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), establishes that Nicaragua, with only 20 points, has the worst evaluation in the region and one of the worst on the continent, along with Venezuela (14) and Haiti (20).
The report highlights that the serious corruption problems faced by these countries are directly linked to political instability and the humanitarian crisis they are suffering.
“This year America has 22 countries without statistically significant changes in their fight against corruption. In the last ten years, only Guyana (39) and Paraguay (30) have made significant improvements. In the same period of time, three of the strongest democracies in the region: the United States (67), Chile (67) and Canada (74), who lead the ranking this year, show a deterioration and only Uruguay (73) keeps stable. Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua, non-democratic countries facing humanitarian crises, obtain the worst score,” the report states.
Haiti is among the poorest countries in the region and suffered the assassination of its president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, while Nicaragua and Venezuela are trapped in the repression and outrages of the dictatorships of Daniel Ortega and Nicolás Maduro, respectively.
“With a setback of nine points in the last ten years, Nicaragua has established itself as the third dictatorship in the region (along with Cuba and Venezuela), through an illegitimate electoral process, systematic violations of human rights and a absolute concentration of power in the figures of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. Today, this country does not have the transparency and counterweight to the executive power necessary to combat corruption”, cites the Transparency International report.
“Venezuela obtains one of the lowest scores globally. Grand corruption has caused serious violations of social rights, including education, health and food. Likewise, the judicial system has become an instrument of repression against dissidence and critical voices. The blocking of public information, the lack of accountability by state entities and an independent justice system create a space where human rights violations are made invisible and remain unpunished”, adds the report on the Venezuelan case.
Costa Rica, the best rated
Costa Rica is the Central American country best evaluated with 58 points. Panama registers 36, El Salvador 34, Guatemala 25 and Honduras 23. Nicaragua is also the country in the region that has deteriorated the most, falling nine points in the last ten years, going from 29 to 20, between 2012 and 2021. However, However, the report clarifies that the isthmus is at its lowest points in its fight against corruption.
The report highlights the serious problems that exist in Guatemala and Honduras, and adds that the case of El Salvador must be carefully followed due to the authoritarian drift that has been pointed out to its President Nayib Bukeland.
In the case of Guatemala, the study emphasizes that it has fallen eight points in the last ten years in its CPI. This is because the successes in the fight against corruption and impunity achieved by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) quickly faded. This even led the United States to sanction the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office for obstructing investigations of high-impact corruption cases and promoting impunity in the country.
With Honduras, the study indicates that although its CPI is the second worst in the Central American region, there is some expectation about what the arrival to the Presidency will imply by Xiomara Castroand its commitment to eliminate those laws that promote impunity.
Authoritarian Drift Concerns in El Salvador
With El Salvador, the report establishes that, by 2022, a dictatorship could be consolidated, if Bukele’s policies continue to undermine democracy, persecute critical voices and restrict political and civil rights.
“This country shows an increasingly restricted right to access information and high levels of opacity in the use of public funds. It is presumed that high-ranking government officials participated in multimillion-dollar corruption schemes in the response to the covid-19 crisis and as part of local elections,” details the report on the Salvadoran case.
“Several officials of the current government, as well as of the previous ones, were included in the ‘List Engel’ published by the United States, accused of corruption and of attacking democracy in the country. The measures taken by the Government to undermine the independence of justice institutions and close civic space are also worrying, ”he adds.
The most transparent countries with the best score
The report highlights that the countries that lead the classification are Denmark, Finland and New Zealand, with 88 points each. The top ten scores are completed by Norway (85), Singapore (85), Sweden (85), Switzerland (84), the Netherlands (82), Luxembourg (81) and Germany (80).
On the other hand, South Sudan (11), Syria (13) and Somalia (13) remain at the bottom of the ranking. Countries with armed conflict or authoritarian regimes tend to have the lowest scores, including Venezuela (14), Afghanistan (16), North Korea (16), Yemen (16), Equatorial Guinea (17), Libya (17) and Turkmenistan (19).
