Transparency International has placed Mexico in the worst position in its history in the Corruption Perception Index. The organization, which prepares its report every two years, places the country in 2024 in position 140 out of 180 countries evaluated, on a par with Iraq, Uganda or Nigeria. Within the 100 possible points, which represent the maximum rating, Mexico obtained 26. This represents a setback compared to 2022, when the country registered 31 points and was ranked 126th. “The results confirm the mandate of Mexican society: the Government must more effectively confront corruption in Mexico,” Transparencia Mexicana wrote in its statement.
Corruption levels are “extremely high” throughout the world, concludes the latest Transparency International report, which stresses that two out of three countries are below 50 points. Denmark (90), Finland (88) and Singapore (84) lead the ranking, which is closed by South Sudan (8), Somalia (9) and Venezuela (10). In the American region, only Uruguay (76), Canada (75), the United States (65), Chile (63) and Costa Rica (58) have passed.
Mexico has suffered the worst decline on the continent in the fight against corruption, having dropped five points in just two years. The country is rated better than Guatemala (25), Paraguay (24), Honduras (22), Haiti (16) and Nicaragua (14), but worse than Cuba (41), Colombia (39), Argentina (37), Brazil (34), Ecuador (32), Peru (31) or Bolivia (28). Transparency International insists that the results for the country are based on information from 13 “independent sources” between 2023 and 2024: “By integrating different measurements and two years into a single estimate, a single corruption event or scandal is prevented from altering a country’s rating. What it measures is the trend and not specific cases.”
This Corruption Perception Index has been used as a reference even by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who named it in 2018 in his first message as president of Mexico: “According to the latest measurement by Transparency International, we are ranked 135th out of 176 countries evaluated. We are ranked 135th in corruption, out of 176 countries evaluated, and we moved to that position after being in 59th place in 2000, rising to 70th in 2006, climbing to 106th in 2012, and reaching the shameful position we are in in 2017.”
During most of López Obrador’s administration, the country improved its position compared to previous years (although it never reached the level of 2014), however, it has been in this last stretch when the perception of corruption has increased. The NGO lists five keys to understanding the result. The first is the “uncertainty about the scope and implementation of the reforms in matters of transparency, anti-corruption and the Judiciary.” Also included is “the growing number of cases of corruption at the state level involving organized crime” and the increase in “companies identified as ghost companies or controlled by organized crime that continue to be contracted by governments.”
Furthermore, it recovers the “low levels of sanction in terms of administrative responsibilities”: “According to Transparencia Mexicana, using information provided by the auditing agencies themselves, of the 3,350 possible administrative responsibilities initiated by the 33 higher auditing bodies between 2017 and 2024, 281 cases (8.4%) ended in sanctions by administrative courts.” Finally, Transparency International insists on the “impunity” of cases such as Odebrecht, Pemex Agronitrogenados, the so-called Estafa Maestra and Selgamex. Regarding the framework in the extinct federal agency in charge of agro-food safety, it emphasizes that there are 26 people linked to criminal proceedings: “But they have not been found responsible by a judge. The sentences are still pending.”
At a global level, Transparency International emphasises the strong link between corruption and the climate crisis: “Two of the greatest challenges facing humanity are strongly intertwined.” “Corruption weakens governance structures, undermines law enforcement and diverts essential climate finance aimed at reducing emissions and increasing resilience,” the organisation states. “In countries where corruption is widespread, transparency in environmental decision-making is often compromised, leading to unfair outcomes and the destruction of natural resources.”
Source: elpais
