Panama slides on corruption index

Panama continues to slip  on the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International .

The country obtained 35 points out of 100. In addition, it is ranked 111 out of 180 countries that were measured.

In the report, the higher the score, the less corrupt the country is. Meanwhile, the lower the position, the less corrupt the State is.

The data from the report shows that Panama has deteriorated compared to last year when it obtained a score of 36 and the position was 101 out of 180 countries.

Carlos Barsallo, president of the Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom, the Panamanian chapter of Transparency International, explained that the result shows “the worst score” that the country has received since 2013, and the worst position since 2012.

He said that it marks a regrettable downward trend since 2015, when it reached its best score with 39 and best position with 72 of 180.

This means that in the last six years Panama has dropped 39 positions and is among the 10 countries out of 180 in the world that have dropped 10 positions or more.

“Panama, with these results, moves away from the best in America, which are Canada, Chile and Uruguay …”, Barsallo said.

He said that with the results it should be clear that it is not a matter of the government of the day, since they are temporary actors.

“It is a problem that goes beyond governments, and it is not a curse that cannot be overcome, since others have succeeded,” he said.

The Index ranks 180 countries based on expert assessments and entrepreneur surveys. Use a scale from 0 (high corruption) to 100 (no  corruption); This measured bribery, diversion of public funds, and use of public funds for personal gain.