Corruption, Law & Justice

Congressional commission: 70 percent of Peruvian mayors have committed irregularities

More than 70 percent of Peruvian mayors and 50 percent of regional presidents have committed irregularities, according to the president of the multiparty commission in charge of monitoring and evaluating Congresses national anti-corruption plan, lawmaker Rosa Florián.

Florián told CNR radio the main irregularity committed by local authorities is the embezzlement of funds and the abuse of emergencies in order to avoid administrative processes.

“This is very worrisome and we believe that coming into elections some things need to be fixed for the well-being of the country, whether they like it or not,” Florián said.

She called for a regulation that would allow their group to question authorities suspected of corruption.

“There should be a norm that allows use to bring them before the commission, because they take advantage of the situation and don’t come when summoned. The poor are the most affected by what they are doing.”

Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released in Berlin last November, gave Peru a score of 3.7, in a countries rating that ranges between 0, perceived to be highly corrupt, and 10 for those perceived to be the least corrupt.

The index registers the perception of corruption in the public sector of a country, and is obtained through a series of expert and business surveys, seven in the case of most of Latin America.

Peru fared better than some of its neighbors –Argentina scored 2.9 , Bolivia 2.7, and Ecuador 2.2—but ranked the same as Brazil and Colombia. Chile is less corrupt than all its neighbors, scoring 6.7, while Venezuela ranked lowest in the Andean region with a score of 1.9.

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