Corruption is one of the main causes that fuel environmental crimes and slow down the fight against climate change in Latin America where all countries, except three, score less than 50 out of 100 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) presented this Tuesday by Transparency International (TI).
The Latin American countries that their citizens perceive as the “cleanest” are Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica, with 76, 63 and 58 points, respectively, with one hundred points as the best possible score.
They are the only three Latin American countries above 50 points, according to the CPI for 2024.
Uruguay and Costa Rica also manage to add three points compared to the previous year’s report, while Chile loses another three.
At the bottom of the list as the most corrupt are Venezuela, with 10 points – second to last and only ahead of South Sudan and Somalia – and Nicaragua, with 14 – in 172nd place out of 180 countries. Both countries lose three points.
Below 50 points are also Honduras (22, one point less), Paraguay (24, four less), Guatemala (25, two more), Mexico (26, five less), Bolivia (28, one less), El Salvador (30, one less), Peru (31, two less), Ecuador (32, two less), Panama (33, two less), Brazil (34, two less), Dominican Republic (36, one more), Argentina (37, unchanged), Colombia (39, one less) and Cuba (41, one less).
Environmental crimes and the murder of activists who denounce them
According to the TI report, the weakness of institutions and the lack of transparency allow organized crime to control vast areas of the Americas region – which includes 32 countries – where it exploits natural resources without taking into account the consequences for the environment, and does so with total freedom of action and impunity.
This facilitates environmental crimes such as illegal logging in Ecuador, illegal mining in Chile and Colombia, and wildlife trafficking in Brazil, adds the Berlin-based NGO.
Throughout the Americas region, whose average score is 42 out of 100 – one point less than a year ago and one less than the global average – these activities are sustained by corruption and money laundering, which also involve political and economic elites, who resort to fraud in public procurement, bribery and the manipulation of environmental policies for their own benefit.
Thus in Brazil, for example, a recent report identified 24 cases of fraud, corruption and money laundering derived from wildlife trafficking and in Peru, experts point out that the modification of the Forestry and Wildlife Law of 2024 will encourage illegal deforestation and responds to private interests.
In addition, almost 80% of the 1,013 murders of environmental defenders committed since 2019 took place in the Americas (794) and, in particular, in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, making it the most dangerous region for these activists, the report highlights.
In Honduras, recent investigations revealed the coordinated participation of businessmen, politicians and organized crime in at least three murders of environmental defenders, which had exposed corruption schemes involving these actors.
Progress and setbacks
On the other hand, the report highlights the role of Uruguay, with solid institutions, transparent management of environmental data and effective channels for citizen participation, which has helped protect the country from the polarization and populism that affect many countries in the region.
It also highlights the progress made in Guatemala, which in 2024 opened channels for citizen participation and began to digitize public functions to reduce the risks of corruption, and in the Dominican Republic, with similar actions that have been effective, although it points out that both countries still have a long way to go to combat impunity.
On the other hand, the increase in restrictions on public information and citizen participation constitutes one of the biggest setbacks in the region, says the NGO, which explicitly refers to the cases of Argentina and El Salvador.
Mexico’s downward trajectory is also noteworthy, losing five points in just one year, with a weak, opaque and complacent judiciary that has not taken action in emblematic corruption cases such as Odebrecht and Segalmex.
Luciana Torchiaro, regional advisor for Transparency International for Latin America and the Caribbean, said that “the application of firmer sanctions and greater regulation of banks and lawyers that make it easier for corrupt and criminal people to launder their dirty money are essential measures to dismantle corruption networks”.
EFE