Argentina fell in 2020 in the global corruption index

Argentina stepped back During the past year three points in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of the NGO Transparency International.

In addition, dropped 12 places remaining in 78th position out of 179 countries, the latter being considered the most corrupt.

The setback occurred in the first year of President Alberto Fernández’s administration.

In this international survey, Argentina 2020 obtained 42 out of 100 points, with 100 for the most transparent countries, reported Transparency International.

In 2019, the last year of Mauricio Macri’s government, he had obtained 45 points out of 100 as part of a growing trend.

Regarding the ranking of positions, Argentina remained in place in 2020 78 out of 179 countries, the latter being the most corrupt.

In 2019 Argentina was better, in position 66, closer to the first positions that are the most transparent countries.

In the four years of Macri’s government, Argentina had improved its position from 32 – which left Cristina Kirchner’s last year of government – to 45 out of 100 points.

This index is taken into account by private investment and the World Bank and the IMF when you recommend lending or investing money in Argentina.

The corruption perception index It is a work of the prestigious NGO Transparency International based in Berlin and Argentina’s Delia Ferreira Rubio presides.

Citizen power It is the Argentine section of Transparency International and the one responsible for presenting the results in Argentina.

Citizen Power Executive Director Pablo Secchi recalled that “it’s an index Perception corruption ”. Corruption is underground and therefore cannot be measured.

“This does not mean that one country is more corrupt than another, but that specific specialists, investors and actors his opinion on the state of corruption in countries, ”Secchi added.

Regarding Argentina’s result, Secchi said that “although you see a little reaction to this extent, there had been an important advance in the ranking in recent years ”.

The 2020 challenge for Argentina “was to be as transparent as possible in purchases and contracts to mitigate the pandemic“.

“Sadly this goal was not achieved, and we observed that the pandemic was used to jump important control steps, including in purchases and contracts that were not linked to the pandemic, ”he added.

Last April, Social Development Minister Daniel Arroyo sacked 14 civil servants for the purchase of 534 million noodles and rice with supplements and a court case has been opened against prosecutor Sergio Rodríguez.

Secchi stressed that “our maxim is that emergency purchases require emergency control mechanisms. Unfortunately, this is not happening ”.

Until last October, the government 85% of direct recruitments, no tender, and more than half focused on only eight companies.

Citizen Power’s executive director said that “the 2021 target will continue to be linked to the pandemic, but also focusing on the procurement and distribution of vaccines“.

It depends on what actions the government will take in the future, it will depend whether this decline is temporary or a downward trend.

The member of the General Audit Office of the Nation, Jesús Rodríguez, also asked to verify emergency purchases.

Another problem that has influenced, Secchi stressed, “in the perception of Argentina is linked to attempts to change both the judiciary and the prosecution“.

He alluded to the government’s judicial reform plan and Vice President Cristina Kirchner’s attempts to move the Acting Attorney General, Eduardo Casal, among other measures against justice.

“These movements are generally not perceived as positive by the people consulted in this type of work, generate uncertainty about the independence of the judiciary and the rules of the gameSecchi finished.

The published report reveals that global corruption “is undermining health systems and contribution to democratic decline amid the COVID19 pandemic ”.

What other factors did these international businessmen, officials or academics take into account in giving their opinion?

As Secchi said, the government canceled by decree the obligation to make public tenders to purchase drugs and other supplies against the coronavirus and authorize direct purchases.

In addition, the Anti-Corruption Office headed by the member of “Legitimate Justice” Félix Cros He withdrew as a plaintiff in a corruption case K.

Experts consider that the greatest state interventionism in the economy, which means more regulations and more “tolls” to be paid to civil servants.

The Vicentín affair certainly also worsened the international image of the Frente de Todos government.

On the judicial front, the Court has ratified convictions such as that of former vice-president Amado Boudou.

But last year, investigating judges, in general, slowed down the course of the causes of the pandemic or the fear of the pressure of K.

While Kirchnerism has asked for pardons or amnesties for Boudou and others convicted or prosecuted in corruption cases.

In 2015, the last year of the administration of former President Cristina Kirchner, Argentina published a report in this index.

Argentina was in position 107 of 168 in this ranking where the last positions correspond to the most corrupt countries in the public sector.

Coat only 32 points out of 100 possible (the closest to 100 are the countries perceived as the most transparent) in this survey.

The surveys and reports used to prepare the 2020 report were conducted with members of the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Transformation Index, Country Ratings from the Economist Intelligence Unit, Country Risk Ratings Global Insight, and the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook.

También consulted with integrants of PRS International Country Risk Guide, Varieties of Democracy Project, World Economic Forum EOS and World Justice Project Rule of Law Index.