Photo By: Council on Foreign Relations
Corruption is a pest, a termite that infests institutions and bureaucracies in every corner of the world. As each news headline cycles onto the next, there are consistent patterns in the types of headlines that gain attention: accusations of corrupt leaders stealing this country’s national reserves and that business executive who embezzled funds; all the predicaments that impede society from reaching peaceful stability seem to stem back from corruption. However, its origins are seldom understood, its causes less so. In a world in which greed and ego have become an intrinsic part of politics, corruption has latched on as well. Nevertheless, pinning corruption as the origin of all maladies—and therefore its destruction as a solution—is only the starting point in a journey to understand why countries around the world suffer great inequalities in comparison to their developed counterparts.
Corruption is a pest, a termite that infests institutions and bureaucracies in every corner of the world. As each news headline cycles onto the next, there are consistent patterns in the types of headlines that gain attention: accusations of corrupt leaders stealing this country’s national reserves and that business executive who embezzled funds; all the predicaments that impede society from reaching peaceful stability seem to stem back from corruption. However, its origins are seldom understood, its causes less so. In a world in which greed and ego have become an intrinsic part of politics, corruption has latched on as well. Nevertheless, pinning corruption as the origin of all maladies—and therefore its destruction as a solution—is only the starting point in a journey to understand why countries around the world suffer great inequalities in comparison to their developed counterparts. The human experience and corruption seem to go hand in hand. In fact, corruption has been present in civilizations as far back as the beginnings of written history. Given their avid ability to record and keep track of bureaucratic tendencies, the Ancient Egyptians were one of the first to formalize corruption and leave evidence of its origins. The story of the Eloquent Peasant, which was dutifully recorded, narrates the accusations of an Egyptian civilian against a magistrate as he writes, “Your portion is in your house, your belly is full… the magistrates give, and you take. Are you then a robber?” Although the details of the dispute are murky, the fundamental concept of corruption is there. A civilian is accusing the mayor of administrative fraud, and hence, the beginning of corruption as a part of modern civilizations. The Roman Empire was a notable nucleus for corruption, given its vast expanse. Those who engaged in corruption would be forced to pay double of what they stole and would later be banned from participating in any kind of political activity. Although corruption was acknowledged and consequences were explained in detail, the efforts were often in vain given that corruption was mainly practiced by those who held powerful positions in the Senate. Although societies metamorphosed into modern civilizations, the fundamental parts of corruption stayed largely the same: people in positions of power compared to others involved in the transaction abused said advantage for personal gain. The richest kingdoms during the 16th and 17th centuries often had to contend with the possibility of their monarch embezzling state funds. There were some attempts to reduce corruption during this period. In France, for example, a special court was created to take the monarch’s place if the ruler was discovered to be bribing, scamming, or extorting people. A noble cause resulted in a disappointing ending, given that in 1717, only one year after the court was established, ‘general amnesty’ was put in place which virtually accepted all kinds of corruption. Corruption, once again, emerged victoriously, and it further planted its roots into bureaucratic procedures. Although corruption was widespread for most of history, it gained the most traction and exposure during the late 20th century. Before this, corruption was seen as a synonym for government and power. People seldom questioned it, simply considering it a side effect of any kind of transaction. There are many lines of thought that attempt to understand why the idea of corruption gained such importance in the 1990s. An International Monetary Fund article titled “Corruption Around the World: Causes, Consequences, Scope, and Cures” published in 1998 argues that the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War contributed to the growth of corruption as general knowledge. The report states, “the end of the Cold War has stopped the political hypocrisy that had made decision-makers in some industrial countries ignore political corruption.” Furthermore, the IMF argues that the end of the 20th century brought a boom of mass media and worldwide information that contributed to the spread of information. Other factors like the reliance on market economics or the rise of certain countries as political powers are also cited to be contributors to the growth of communal knowledge regarding corruption.
Corruption has been present as long as human leadership and power structures, but pinpointing the causes brings a new dimension of complexity to the topic. According to a study conducted by Richard Florida, the senior editor at The Atlantic at the time of the study, and Charlotta Mellander the economic structure and level of development in a country is directly related to its levels of corruption. Singapore, for example, whose GDP exceeds 350 billion USD, also has a Corruption Perception Index of 85, making it the third least corrupt country in the world. On the other hand, Venezuela, whose GDP is around 42.53 billion USD, scored a 15 out of 100 on the CPI, ranking at 176 out of 180 thus making it one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Mellander and Florida’s study also concluded that economies that rely on knowledge and human capital are also less corrupt. The same goes for levels of happiness, social tolerance, and what the study dubs as “creative class” his is one slant with which to analyze the causes of corruption, but they continue to be quite abstract. In Štefan Šumah’s study of corruption, he stated that corruption was mainly confined to countries with closed economies, meaning that there are few imports and exports and that foreign investment is absent. Furthermore, low media freedom, poor education, and cultural beliefs all coalesce to build the perfect environment for corruption to flourish. It is interesting to note that corruption seems to be a self-sustaining cycle. Countries with low media freedom tend to be more corrupt, but corruption also generates lower media freedom. Corruption seems to be a downward spiral, getting tighter and harder to escape as each factor contributes to the strengthening of a toxic system.
The word corruption immediately triggers a blaring alarm every time it is uttered, but corruption itself is quite complex, and it includes a myriad of activities that are often swept under the rug. Everything from a bribe to “commissions” to exchanging money for services can be considered corruption, and it is not limited to governments. Large businesses are often involved in corruption scandals, one of the most notable being the Odebrecht scandal, in which top executives of the company were found to be misusing funds. It culminated into one of the worst corruption scandals in Latin America, alongside the Lava Jato scandal in Brazil. Corruption is a poison that slowly dissolves institutions and takes down families with it. Not only does corruption generate a system of lies and deceit, it strongly leads to the exponential decrease of investments in the country. With corruption, public projects come to a halt, development of infrastructure becomes fundamentally impossible, and foreign investment and funding shrink immediately. Far beyond cultivating greed and ego, benefiting those who take part in illicit activities, corruption leads to the collective detriment of a country or institution. A study conducted by Transparency International which focused on 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean reported that 1 in 5 people have experienced or know someone who has experienced sexual extortion when trying to access government services like healthcare and education. Victims of these kinds of crimes are not only prevented from accessing public services, but they are also abused when they do so. Corruption is not only a political problem, it is a social and cultural problem as well.
Often, when corruption is mentioned on the news or on the morning paper, the name of a Latin American or African country is in bold. Given that Latin America and Africa do house the poorest nations in the world, corruption has seemingly merged itself into society, integrating itself into government institutions, becoming a part of everyday life—as it was before the 1990s brought increased attention to the subject. It is interesting to consider why said countries or regions have such higher levels of corruption when compared to their European or North American counterparts. One theory is that the drug industry is one of the many sparks of violence and corruption. Given that certain regions of Latin America are ideal for the cultivation and production of drugs, the industry has garnered extreme strength and relevance. Presidential Determination No. 2020-11 by the United States government pinpointed the “major illicit drug-producing countries” and listed 22 countries around the globe who were contributing to the industry. Of those 22 countries, 17 are located in Latin America including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia. As of 2020, cocaine cultivation in Colombia covered around 245,000 hectares, while cocaine production reached 1,010 metric tons. In Peru, 88,200 hectares of cocaine were cultivated with an additional 810 metric tons produced. Colombia and Peru scored 39 and 38 (out of 100, which indicates that a country has no corruption) in the CPI respectively, further proving that there is a correlation between drug production and corruption. The pattern continues, and it coincides with high levels of corruption in each respective country. The relationship between drug production and corruption levels contributes to the idea that the drug industry not only causes violence and destruction, but it also wades into a country’s institutions and catalyzes destructive patterns of bribery, embezzlement, and subversion within them. Although the drug industry highly contributes to the destabilization of the country, it is often those in power who take advantage of this chaos and pursue illicit activities. The Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre summarizes the incentives for corruption by saying, “some individuals are willing to use illicit means to maximize personal or corporate gain. Corruption seems to be inextricably linked to one of society’s greatest hamartia: greed. Humans seem to be greedy by nature, people are always yearning for more, and this is only expanded in the political world. According to transparency international, 1 in 4 people have been offered money in exchange for votes, which is reflected in the 65% of people who believe that their government is “run by and for a few private interests.”
There are endless examples of corruption scandals that have shaken Latin America to its core. From Lava Jato to Odebrecht to the expulsion of the CICIG (an institution put in place in order to monitor and control corruption) from Guatemala, corruption is a stubborn weed that depletes every weak and underdeveloped government and institution. A problem that is so deep-rooted into human nature is difficult to solve, or even alleviate. Nevertheless, countries that have transparent electoral systems and governments and clear regulations on the assets and incomes of those in power, tend to suffer less in the claws of corruption. It is important that developed countries with low CPI’s demonstrate solidarity and help push reforms that will benefit their neighbors—the fight against corruption is a global one. Establishing a zero-tolerance society is also a vital part of doing away with corruption, given that those who are exposed to it will feel empowered to report it. Currently, civilians who are approached by an important politician or an imposing police officer do not have the support or the resources to stand up against them; they often need the money or are fearful of what can happen to them if they do not engage. Creating a system in which people refuse silence and opt to prioritize the growth of healthy institutions, will be extremely beneficial when combating said societal ailment. Open communication and transparency are the keys to end corruption, and although these recommendations sound simple, obvious or intuitive solutions are often the most difficult to implement. Corruption will always be present in society. As mentioned previously, it seems to be a part of the human experience, but hopefully, as solutions are ideated and innovations are implemented, it will lose its Olympic grip on society, thus empowering citizens and strengthening institutions.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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