BEVERATI, Martina.

Harvard - LIDS/ GAB

Argentina, a country ruled by corruption?

Corruption is a disease, a cancer that eats into the cultural, political and economic fabric
of society, and destroys the functioning of vital organs.1
The great majority of Argentineans know that the actual government is corrupt. The ones
who dont agree to this statement are otherwise, corrupt or being fooled. Transparency International,
an international coalition against corruption, published that Argentina is one of the most corrupt
countries in Latin America.2 Lies, fraud, and hidden facts are daily news. Why should it be daily
when it is illegal? It is an everyday problem not only in Argentina, but in the world. It is been there
so long, that it has become normal, but it shouldnt be happening. So, how is Argentina fighting
against corruption?
A corrupt government reflects on its community, it causes moral values to be lost. People do not
trust others, affecting the economy and the countrys development. It produces stagnation and the
balance in society, is broken. If the Argentine vice-president is accused of illicit enrichment, why
would we trust the police, who allegedly prevent us of being robed, not to be bribed? A government
based in corruption is weak, because when truth becomes public, it may discredit it and turn into a
crisis. Transparency International Australia describes corruption as one of the greatest challenges
of the contemporary world. It undermines good government, fundamentally distorts public policy,
leads to the misallocation of resources, harms the private sector and private sector development
and particularly hurts the poor. Controlling it is only possible with the cooperation of a wide range
of stakeholders in the integrity system, including most importantly the state, civil society, and the
private sector.3
In Argentina, since 1999 the O.A., or The Anti-Corruption Bureau (La Oficina Anticorrupcin), has
been in charge of developing and coordinating programs to combat corruption. It is responsible of
preventing and investigating those behaviors that are considered to fall within the Inter-American
1 Inge AMUNDSEN, Political Corruption: An Introduction to the Issues,
http://www.cmi.no/publications/file/1040-political-corruption.pdf (18/9/2014)
2 Transparency International, http://www.transparency.org/country#ARG_DataResearch
3 Transparency International Australia, Mission Statement,
http://transparency.org.au/index.php/about-us/mission-statement/ (18/9/2014)
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BEVERATI, Martina.

Harvard - LIDS/ GAB

Convention against Corruption standards. The Anti-Corruption Bureau acts within the scope of the
centralized and decentralized national public administration, companies, corporations, and any other
public or private entity with state ownership or having, as main source of income, the state.

Though the O.A. has these targets, they are not fully applied by the actual Argentine Justice System.
Initiatives are being proposed to improve this.
Joo Augusto Ribeiro Nardes, a Brazilian politician proposed to create a network, which

links all control agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean, to allow fast exchange of
information, not only to detect acts of corruption, but to prevent them. 5 If this is nailed down, and
the Anti-Corruption Bureau was linked, it would mean an improvement on the O.A.s work. So, the
O.A.s goals would be better applied and it would show that the government wants transparency.
If we want our reality to change, we all have to work together. One way is to support political
parties which have anticorruption aims. Confronting this issue by denouncing acts of corruption
would make pressure on the State to solve it, and eventually, it will raise awareness. The more
people who know about the topic, the easier it will be to get a solution. But raising awareness isnt
enough: uneducated people, who usually tend to be poor, are easily deceived. Education gives us
the tools to fully understand whats put in front of us each day. Without education, people may be
effortlessly convinced into voting for corrupt leaders in exchange of economic benefits.
Above all, Argentina needs the commitment of authorities who will build an effective
justice system for corruption cases, and policies that promote transparency and social involvement
in the issue.

4 Trans. Oficina Anticorrupcin, http://www.anticorrupcion.gov.ar/quees_oa_1a.asp (18/9/2014)

5 La Nacin newspaper, politic section, published the 24/5/2014
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1694255-buscan-crear-una-red-contra-la-corrupcion (18/9/2014)
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