Transparency International says Brazil has “lost a decade” in fighting corruption

The organization Transparency International pointed out that Brazil remained stagnant with a bad result in the world’s main corruption index during former President Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) government.

The assessment is part of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), considered the main indicator of corruption globally, released on Tuesday (31) by the entity.

According to the document, Brazil had a lost decade in the fight against corruption, falling five points and 25 positions in the ranking since 2012.

On a scale of 0 to 100, the country reached only 38 points in 2022, the same score obtained in the two previous index editions (2020 and 2021).

Despite the unchanged score, the country moved from 96th to 94th, among the 180 countries and territories evaluated, due to the worsening of other countries’ scores.

Brazil was tied with Argentina, Ethiopia, Morocco, and Tanzania.

“The result reflects the accelerated dismantling of the legal and institutional anti-corruption frameworks that the country had taken decades to build. Along with the setback in the capacity to tackle corruption, Brazil has suffered unprecedented degradation of its democratic regime,” the report points out.

DENMARK AND FINLAND WITH THE BEST SCORES

The survey gave the best scores to Denmark (90 points), Finland and New Zealand (both with 87 points), Norway (84 points), Singapore, and Sweden (both with 83 points).

At the opposite extreme, with the worst scores, are Somalia (12), Syria and South Sudan (both 13), and Venezuela (14), all of these countries involved in protracted internal conflicts.

IMPACTS OF THE SO-CALLED SECRET BUDGET

Among the facts highlighted by the research conducted by Transparency International, the document analyzes the so-called “Secret Budget”, pointed out by the entity as “the largest scheme of institutionalization of corruption that has been recorded in Brazil” and its impacts on the quality of essential public policies, the pulverization of corruption in municipalities and the distortion of the electoral process, resulting in the strengthening of the most physiological parties and most corrupt leaderships in Brazilian politics, says the report.

“The report identifies the Secret Budget as the main purchase currency of Bolsonaro’s political armor in Congress, guaranteed by the Centrão. The biggest beneficiary of the secret resources, House Speaker Arthur Lira kept more than 140 impeachment requests stalled and reelected himself as a federal deputy with twice as many votes as he had in the previous election,” the organization says.

NEUTRALIZATION OF THE PGR

Another fact pointed out by Transparency International is the neutralization of the Republic’s Prosecutor General Office (PGR), which, according to the organization, would have “shielded” former president Bolsonaro and his allies.

“The omissions of the PGR in 2022 had serious consequences for the impunity of the criminal conducts investigated by the Pandemic CPI, the continued dismantling of environmental governance and protection of indigenous rights, the unimpeded advance of coup movements and attacks on democratic institutions, as well as retaliations against members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself active in corruption cases,” says the document.

In the report, the entity states that the “constitutional vacuum of the PGR” has been filled by the exacerbation of the role of the Supreme Court (STF) and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

“Without being able to count on the PGR to request the opening of cases or precautionary measures in the two courts, ministers began to act ex officio and collectively homologate heterodoxies in the face of serious threats and attacks on institutions and the democratic order” the document points out.

VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND GUARANTEES

This exacerbation of the Judiciary, says the document, caused a series of violations of procedural guarantees and individual rights.

“If this was the possible survival strategy of the institutions, the report also warns that the continued violation of procedural guarantees and individual rights bring dangerous consequences for the rule of law and progressively undermine the reserve of the judiciary’s authority.”

PROPOSALS FOR FIGHTING CORRUPTION

In the document, Transparency International launched 25 proposals for the four-year period 2023-2026, considered crucial to stop political interference and rescue the autonomy of key bodies in preventing and fighting corruption, expand and strengthen accountability in public institutions, and ensure transparency and the right of access to public information.

Among them are the regulation of lobbying, the institution of a binding three-nominee list for the appointment of the Prosecutor General, the establishment of a quarantine for the electoral candidacy of members of the Judiciary, the Public Ministry, the Armed Forces, and the police, the protection of whistleblowers, and the recovery of the environmental protection system and the strengthening of the fight against environmental corruption.

“It is essential that the new government demonstrates, with concrete actions, that it is committed to the democratic rescue of the guidelines of transparency and integrity,” says the entity.

With information from Gazeta do Povo

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