Brazil plummets in corruption perception ranking in the first year of Lula 3

Brazil dropped ten positions and reached 104th place among 180 countries in the 2023 Corruption Perception Index (IPC), released by the NGO Transparency International this Tuesday (30). The Brazilian score decreased from 38 to 36 points and placed the country on the same level as Algeria, Serbia and Ukraine – which is at war.

While the global average remained stagnant at 43 points for the 12th consecutive year, the report points out that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) has been failing in its attempt to rebuild what, according to the left-wing narrative, was dismantled by the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Among the points analyzed by Transparency International are the “degradation of institutions”; the appointment of Lula’s personal lawyer, Cristiano Zanin, to the Federal Supreme Court (STF); the choice of Paulo Gonet Branco for the position of Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) outside the triple list of the Federal Public Ministry; the “rapporteur’s amendments” in Congress; the increase in the electoral fund to R$4.9 billion this year, among others.

“We have had a series of setbacks in recent years and now we are witnessing the difficulty of the process of rebuilding institutions”, says Guilherme France, manager of the anti-corruption knowledge center at Transparency International.

See below the Transparency International ranking for 2023 (see in full):

And the closest positions to Brazil:

The report points out that “there are already signs of worsening in the current bargaining terms between the federal government and Congress, with the reintroduction of another major political bargaining chip: the subdivision of state-owned companies. The effects have already begun to be felt in the main Brazilian company and focus of macro corruption schemes, Petrobras, with the loosening of political shielding rules in the company’s statute and appointments of managers overriding vetoes from the department of complianceincluding individuals investigated for corruption” (see in full).

“The process of degradation of institutions can happen quickly, but the process of reconstruction takes time and demands the involvement of all actors in society”, pointed out France.

Although Brazil fell in the ranking, the document mentions positive events, such as technical indications in the Federal Police and the approval of tax reform.

According to Transparency International, the last year in which Brazil had a drop in the index was in 2019, Bolsonaro’s first year in office, when he reached 35 points. In the following three years, the evaluation improved and remained at 38 points.

Brazil remains below the global average

Also according to Transparency International, the country remains below the global averages (43 points), the Americas (43 points) and the OECD (66 points). The NGO’s proposal to combat corruption includes ceasing the use of “opaque mechanisms” in political negotiations, promoting independence in high-level appointments and removing government officials under investigation for corruption.

Globally, the survey reveals that most countries have made little or no progress in combating corruption in the public sector in the last 12 years. Of the 180 countries assessed, only 28 improved their performance, while 34 significantly worsened.

The report highlights a weakening of judicial systems and the rule of law since 2016, associated with the advance of authoritarianism in some countries. Even in democratic contexts, government control mechanisms have weakened. In America, the Judiciary has not been able to exercise its role of control over other powers, warns the study.

Canada (76) and Uruguay (73), with more robust anti-corruption controls, top the regional rankings, while Venezuela (13), Haiti (17) and Nicaragua (17) have the lowest scores.

Chile (66) stands out for its “solid democracy and high transparency”, but faces challenges in combating corruption and organized crime. The survey is based on 13 independent data sources, with each country evaluated by at least three of them.

CGU says report should be viewed with caution

On the other hand, the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) contested the Transparency International assessment that lowered Brazil’s performance in the ranking. The body states that the Lula government “has been reestablishing the structure of public policy councils, essential spaces – as recognized in the TI report – for the prevention and control of corruption”.

“It should be noted, however, that international studies discuss the methodological limitations of indices based on perception, so their results should be viewed with caution. Several international organizations – including the UN, G20 and OECD – have discussed the development of new measures on the topic. Corruption is a complex phenomenon and no indicator can measure all its aspects”, highlighted the CGU in a note (see in full).

Also according to the Comptroller, work is being carried out to identify and correct risks of corruption in public policies, contracting and other State actions. The body also noted that it “reversed almost two hundred abusive confidentiality and, more importantly, established rules to prevent new violations of the Access to Information Law”.