Costa Rica stuck in one spot in corruption ranking

QCOSTARICA — With a change of 3 points since last year, Costa Rica has a score of 58 this year in the most recent measurement of the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) by Transparency.org.

According to the results, it occupies position 42 among 180 countries scored around the world, placing itself in the last quarter among those belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with a “poor performance.”

From Transparency.org

“It is a democracy with important limitations, this is how countries that have between 50 and 60 points behave, those with 65 and more are considered full democracies.

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“Why are we limited in controlling corruption? Perhaps we have lacked more legislation, more institutionality, more resources and more joint work,” said Juany Guzmán, president of the Costa Rica Íntegra Association.

Among the aspects evaluated, an improvement was recorded regarding economic, political, social, environmental, tax and security risks.

In addition to a good index of transformation towards democracy and market economy related to sovereign debt, currency, banking sector and business climate.

The country faltered in the Index of Degree and Types of Democracy, in the Rule of Law and Governance theme, and in progress towards greater competitiveness.

“Corruption contributes to democratic deterioration, the growth of inequalities and authoritarian manifestations. This damages democracy, in a hidden way, but it is affecting it negatively,” he added.

Sociologist José Carlos Chinchilla stressed that actions must be taken so that people believe in the complaint and that impunity does not cause Costa Ricans to “close their eyes” to corruption.

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“Despite the 58 points, the truth is that we are quite far from countries with full democracies (…) the progress that has been made to fight corruption is not enough,” he commented.

“Everyone has to be held accountable”

According to experts, these results are evidence of a social problem that falls on each and every Costa Rican and not only on those who have power because even small acts of corruption feed larger acts that end up weakening democracy.

For Isabel Gamboa, a sociologist and professor at the University of Costa Rica, the phenomenon has a cultural root, since the Costa Rican “is very kind to himself” and does not judge the acts he commits so severely.

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“Corruption has many forms, we need as a society to broaden the concept and not only think about large amounts because there are also very small manifestations (…) Everyone has to be held accountable,” she said.

She added that political parties are born with the idea of “skipping institutions,” thus encouraging corruption when they come to power.

CPI 2024 for the Americas: Corruption fuels environmental crime and impunity across the region

What is the CPI?

It is a statistical measurement that aggregates the voices of experts, serious, quantitative international sources that allow for comparison, and also establishes comparisons between countries and in time series.

CPI ranking in the Americas: