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Corruption Index Improves Slightly in Most of Latin America The index ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. Ecuador was listed as the most corrupt of the Latin American countries included, at number 74 of 90 countries ranked. Bolivia and Venezuela were close seconds, tying for 71st place with the Ivory Coast. Mexico and Colombia came in 59th and 60th , respectively. The highest-ranking country in the region was Chile, at number 18, right behind Germany and before France or Japan. Argentina showed the most improvement, moving to 52nd place from 71st. The survey judged Finland to be the least corrupt country; Nigeria, the worst. The United States came in 14th place. The Economist followed up on the index's publication with articles about corruption in Brazil and Argentina. At 49th place, Brazil's ranking has improved since 1995-when Transparency International first began publishing the index-but its standing has begun to slip. Citing recent high-profile corruption cases, the magazine argues that Brazil's judicial system "has been notoriously soft on corruption and white-collar crime." The article on Argentina notes allegations of bribe-taking among politicians and judges, but finds significant-albeit slow-progress in cutting down on corruption. The Economist's editors argue that corruption represents a threat to democratic rule in Latin America by undermining the public's trust in the rule of law and public institutions. The problem, they conclude, "leads some to yearn for a return to authoritarian rulers-although these are generally better at covering up corruption, than at preventing it. Democratic politicians pledge to clean it up, yet all too often seem to fail to do so." http://www.transparency.org
http://www.economist.com
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