Corruption grows in Latin America. And so does the fight against it.

www.latinbusinesschronicle.com BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Argentina and Nicaragua aren´t the only Latin American countries suffering from corruption. The latest survey from Transparency International shows reduced transparency scores in nine countries, while only three nations boosted their transparency.

"In parts of South America, the graft and misrule of political elites have drained confidence in the democratic structures that emerged after the end of military rule,” Peter Steigen, chairman of Transparency International, said in a statement when the results were released.

However, there is also good news: Businesspeople and politicians are increasingly opposing the tradition of corruption. In Nicaragua, President Enrique Bolanos has received widespread attention for his efforts to clean up the corruption of his predecessor Arnoldo Aleman.

But the private sector is also getting involved. In Guarulhos (the second-largest city in the State of Sao Paulo), businessman Luis Roberto Mesquita has succeeded in putting transparency on the agenda. His campaign to get public officials to commit to anti-corruption government had led to increased awareness of the issue and also led to the 1998 ouster of the city´s mayor, Nefí Tales.

Mesquita is now among three recipients of this year´s Integrity Award from Transparency. "Mesquita has taken on the most powerful and corrupt in his city again and again,” Cláudio Weber Abramo, General Secretary of Transparencia Brasil, said in a statement on the award.

Paraguay and Haiti were added to Transparency´s list from last year and managed to rise to the top of the list in terms of worst offenders. Paraguay scored 1.7 (out of ten) and got a global rank of 98 (of 102 nations). Haiti got a score of 2.2 and came in at 89, the same as Bolivia. However, Bolivia managed to show a slight improvement over last year´s score of 2.0.

Argentina and Panama saw the strongest declines in their scores, followed by Guatemala and Venezuela. While many see the growing economic chaos in Argentina as a factor behind increased corruption, the lower scores in Panama were likely caused by scandal tying the government to bribing legislators for their votes.

The Dominican Republic saw the best improvement, although small increases were also noted in Bolivia, Ecuador and - Nicaragua. The latter may be explained by the recent actions taken by Bolanos against Aleman and his cronies.

Chile continues to be the most transparent country in the region, followed by Uruguay and Costa Rica, the survey shows.

The index is based on different surveys from independent institutions looking at how corruption among public officials and politicians are perceived. Transparency International emphasizes that its index does not necessarily reflect the current status of corruption in a country, but rather the perception.