LatAm corruption: The good, the bad and the ugly

Is Latin America doing enough to end corruption?

According to campaigning NGO Transparency International (TI), no.

In a report accompanying its 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index – which ranks 180 nations and territories by the perceived level of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople – TI says the region has made progress but cannot rest on its laurels.

"In the last few years, Latin America and the Caribbean made great strides in the fight against corruption. Laws and mechanisms exist to curb corruption, while legal investigations are advancing and citizen anti-corruption movements are growing in many countries across the region," the report states.

Recent scandals, such as the one involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, which made illicit payments to public officials all over the region, have produced positive fallout. Awareness of corruption involving civil servants and its impact has increased.

However, TI said anti-corruption efforts have weakened and that governments must up their game in terms of building stronger institutions and implementing effective public policies.

This year is seen as a window of opportunity as key economies Brazil, Mexico and Colombia prepare to choose new presidents.

TI said: "This is a crucial election year in several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Candidates and political parties have an important opportunity to include strong anti-corruption components in their electoral proposals and platforms to promote structural change. To truly improve anti-corruption efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean, governments must foster political will and demonstrate a sustained long-term commitment to anti-corruption reforms."

Latin America is not alone in terms of reducing the intensity of its anti-corruption fight. According to TI, the "majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption."

The index uses a scale of 0-100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. New Zealand (89) ranks the highest and Somalia (9) ranks lowest.

Switzerland, while described by international advocacy group Tax Justice Network as the "grandfather of the world's tax havens," was ranked joint third with Finland and Norway.

LATIN AMERICA'S TOP FIVE

No.1 - Uruguay

Diminutive Uruguay was ranked the cleanest in terms of public sector corruption in the region, scoring 70. The score has been trending down since 2012.

No. 2 - Barbados

The Caribbean nation scored 68, up from 61 in 2016 but down from 76 in 2012. This year the country was removed the EU's blacklist of non-compliant tax havens after European officials assessed a series of commitments it had made to boost transparency.

No. 3 - Chile

Seen as one of the region's least corrupt nations, Chile scored 67, up from 66 in 2016 but down from 72 in 2012.

No. 4 - Bahamas

The country scored 65, the lowest since 2012.

No. 5 - Costa Rica

The Central American nation completes the ranking of the region's five cleanest countries, scoring 59, its highest since 2012.

HOW THE NATIONS THAT MAKE UP THE AMERICAS RANKED OVERALL