After 5 years of Lava Jato, Brazil is at rock bottom in the world corruption ranking.
Brazil has reached its worst ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published by Transparency International, which indicates public perception of corruption in 180 countries. Brazil scored 35 points, its worst result since 2012, placing it 105th, compared to 37 points and 96th place last year. Operation Lava Jato, which undermined large companies and served as a pretext to criminalize the left, in addition to leading to Sérgio Moro's appointment as Minister of Justice, failed to deliver on its promises to combat corruption.
Sputnik - Brazil has reached its worst ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published annually by Transparency International, which indicates public perception of the issue in 180 countries. The data was released on Monday night.
Brazil scored 35 points on a scale of 0 to 100, its worst result since 2012, when the organization changed its methodology and allowed comparisons. The country ranks 105th, compared to 37 points and 96th place last year.
Countries with the same score as Brazil include Peru, Algeria, Armenia, Ivory Coast, Egypt, El Salvador, East Timor, and Zambia. Within the BRICS group, Brazil is only ahead of Russia, which scored 28 points, according to Transparency International.
Based on the cross-referencing of up to 13 data sources dealing with the perceptions of market professionals and experts on the level of corruption in the public sector, the IPC indicates that the closer to 100 points, the lower the perception of corruption in the country.
"The country's remarkable efforts against corruption may be at risk and have not been sufficient to get to the root of the problem. In recent years, we have not seen any outline of a response to the structural causes of corruption in the country," says Transparency International.
The poor results in the study come five years after the start of Operation Lava Jato, considered a watershed moment in the fight against corruption in Brazil. The organization says that the operation "was crucial in breaking with the history of impunity for corruption in Brazil – especially for powerful defendants," but questions the lack of effort from the political class towards "legal and institutional reforms that truly alter the conditions that perpetuate systemic corruption."
Furthermore, the perception that corruption is not improving in the country was exacerbated, according to Transparency International, by the arrest of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), and the series of accusations against then-president Michel Temer (MDB).
The organization also advocates for the advancement of a proposal entitled "New Measures to Combat Corruption," a package of 70 suggestions developed in conjunction with the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), involving 373 institutions and more than 200 experts, which propose new regulations to improve the situation in the country.