Corrupção

Ensaios da Fundação #13

by Luís de Sousa

A corrupção, enquanto forma de influência ou compra de decisões, permaneceu invariável ao longo dos séculos, mas o modo como o poder se estrutura e é exercido em sociedade tem evoluído, criando novas oportunidades e incentivos para este tipo de prática. O que é a corrupção? Como se estrutura e se processa? Que tipos de corrupção são vistos com tolerância e que tipos são considerados danosos para o funcionamento das instituições? Quais as causas que explicam a prevalência da corrupção em determinada sociedade ou contexto histórico? Que factores de risco potenciam a sua ocorrência? Como se tem desenvolvido o combate à corrupção em Portugal? Que papel compete à política, à justiça, aos media e à sociedade civil? Estas e outras questões são objecto de reflexão neste livro.

Genres: Politics, Portugal, Nonfiction

109 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Luís · Rating 3 out of 5]

Countless corruption scandals have happened in recent years, some with enormous repercussions in the media. The facts revealed, involving well-known companies and public figures, contribute to creating a climate of apparent impunity that benefits the wealthiest, who are also or mainly rich because of these acts of corruption, and the sacrificed ordinary citizen is indignant. This cleavage of society that pits the rich and the big companies against the poorest and the smallest companies deserves a political priority, if it prioritizes the cohesion of society, and if it were effectively a constant collective construction of rules and institutions designed to promote life in common. But it has not been so. This is not the case when a public prosecutor with recognized merit is dismissed, when resources are removed from the fight against corruption when new institutions are created that serve only to create more jobs for relatives, boys and girls, and when, at last, the "wedge"", Nepotism, friendship, and patronage remain the norm.

It could then be expected that, in an election year, the pressure of public opinion, mobilized by the known news, would boost the fight against corruption. But even that doesn't seem to be enough. There is a Transparency Commission in Parliament that in three years of existence has not yet produced results, and it appears that there is an apparent attempt at political control over the Superior Councils of the Judiciary and the Public Ministry, and there is a continuing lack of political will that is evident and recognized in the above. While it is true that the weaker the democratic institutions, the more easily corruption spreads, it seems to be possible to conclude that those who have governed us promote the further degradation of democracy or that, at the very least, there is no will to assume corruption as a problem that it must be combated by awareness, prevention, and repression. In this context, private interests are capturing public institutions, and it is hoped that the day will not come when, finally, citizens give up democracy.

While investment detests corrupt countries, the attractiveness of our economy falls short of what it could, penalizing all economic agents. This investment is also why Portuguese economic growth is anaemic compared to what one would expect from a country that, being poor in the context of its partners, should converge with the average European Union, which is falling behind the rest of the Union. We can only hope that, before citizens give up democracy, the day will come when the citizens finally start improving their access to information, there are no more conflicts of interest, lobbyists no longer capture institutions, the fight against money laundering becomes effective, and integrity in public procurement is reinforced.

Source: https://www.dinheirovivo.pt/opiniao/n...

[Jorge Melo Braga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante. Um livro para quem se interessar pelo tema.