Brazil Worsens Corruption Ranking in 2019, Says Transparency International

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil achieved its worst position and lowest score in the ranking on the perception of corruption prepared by Transparency International since 2012. Brazil appears in 106th position among 180 countries evaluated by the Corruption Perception Index in 2019, released this Thursday, January 23rd.

The entity’s report pointed out as obstacles to the fight against corruption in Brazil what it classified as “political interference” by President Jair Bolsonaro in control bodies and the paralysis of investigations that used data from the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF).

In 2018, Brazil ranked 105th with 36 points and in 2017, it ranked 96th with 37 points.

The index is calculated based on the perceived levels of corruption in the public sector by specialists and businessmen – the lower the grade the higher the perception of corruption in the country.

Thirteen data sources were used to calculate the index, including institutions such as the Central Bank and the World Economic Forum.

The Index uses a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). With 35 points, Brazil stands out in the report, which points out corruption as “one of the greatest obstacles to the country’s economic and social development.”

“After the 2018 elections, which were deeply influenced by an accentuated anti-corruption narrative by several candidates, Brazil went through a series of setbacks in its legal and institutional anti-corruption framework,” the document says.

Also among the setbacks in the anti-corruption agenda pointed out by the organization is the injunction of the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Justice Dias Toffoli, who in July of last year ordered the paralysis of criminal investigations that used data from COAF and other control agencies without prior judicial authorization. The action “practically paralyzed the country’s anti-money laundering system,” the report says. The Court’s plenary reviewed the ban at the end of November.

On Bolsonaro, the document states: “Among the current challenges is the growing political interference of President Bolsonaro in the so-called control bodies and the approval of legislation that threatens the independence of law enforcement agents and the accountability of political parties.”

The five best placed in the ranking are Denmark (87), New Zealand (87), Finland (86), Singapore (85), and Sweden (85). The five worst are Venezuela (16), Yemen (15), Syria (13), South Sudan (12), and Somalia (9).

The region with the highest score was Western Europe, with an average score of 66. The worst region on the Index is Sub-Saharan Africa: 32 points out of 100. Regarding the countries from Central and South America and the Caribbean, the average score was 43 out of 100.

Corruption ranking:

1. Denmark
2. New Zealand
3. Finland
4. Singapore
5. Sweden
6. Switzerland
7. Norway
8. Netherlands
9. Germany
10. Luxembourg
106. Brazil

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo