The “Anti-Corruption Assessment in Latin America 2021-2022”, conducted by the Council of Lawyers for Civil and Economic Rights of the Vance Center for International Justice of the New York City Bar, was recently released.
This is the second edition of this study that evaluated legal efforts to prevent and combat corruption in 17 countries in the region, identifying three main problems:
– There are legal efforts to counter corruption, but these are unproductive if they are not accompanied by actions to implement those laws.
– There are many efforts to punish corruption, but efforts to prevent it are insufficient and ineffective.
– The institutions in charge of fighting corruption are not independent and do not have the capacity to investigate and sanction corruption.
The report draws on the legal expertise and practical experience of lawyers engaged in anti-corruption practice in various sectors, including law firms, businesses, academia, civil society organizations, human rights advocates and others.
The assessment uses quantitative and qualitative criteria to rank countries’ anti-corruption efforts, with zero being the lowest and ten being the highest, revealing significant differences in each.
These criteria focus on corruption in the public and private sector; mechanisms for reporting and whistleblower protection; specialized agencies; institutional coordination mechanisms; civil society participation; and transparency and access to information.
In the Assessment, the Council of Lawyers for Civil and Economic Rights called on the legal community to address the regional and national challenges identified in the assessment, highlighting the importance of technology in mechanisms to prevent corruption, regional cooperation of the private sector to promote best practices.
Uruguay is the best ranked country and Venezuela the worst.
Ranking Anti-Corruption Assessment Latin America 2021 – 2022
Uruguay: 8.36
Chile 7.96
Costa Rica 7.04
Brazil 6.70
Argentina 6.32
Colombia 6.20
Ecuador 6.19
Peru 6.06
Mexico 5.64
Bolivia 5.50
Dominican Republic 5.45
Panama 4.61
Paraguay 4.53
El Salvador 4.20
Honduras 4.05
Guatemala 3.54
Venezuela 2.87
