The fight against corruption in Colombia is falling short: Transparencia por Colombia

In last year’s presidential campaign, the issue of corruption in Colombia was at the forefront, given the concerns of citizens, the proliferation of scandals in recent years and the discredit of the political class.

One year into the new government, new scandals have shaken the country, such as the chuzadas scandal, the scandal of Laura Sarabia’s nanny, former head of the President’s office, and the scandal of the alleged entry of illegal money to Gustavo Petro’s presidential campaign.

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In order to learn the results of a Transparency International report on the fight against corruption in Colombia during the last year, we had a conversation with Andrés Hernández, Executive Director of Transparencia por Colombia, who analyzed the legislative activity during this period and pointed out the possible corruption risks that the current government is facing.

Legislative progress in the fight against corruption in Colombia

Regarding the legislative balance, Hernández pointed out that a considerable number of proposals were presented, approximately 800 bills. However, of these, only about 19 bills related in some way to the fight against corruption in Colombia were identified, and very few managed to advance during the last legislative period, which ended a few weeks ago.

Dr. Hernandez mentioned that they identified interesting aspects in the National Development Plan regarding the national anti-corruption strategy that is in the process of being formulated.

Likewise, he said that there are advances in initiatives such as the electoral code, although the review by the Constitutional Court is still pending, and he pointed out that there is a significant project on measures to combat political violence against women.

Insufficient progress of the political reform in terms of electoral financing

However, the Executive Director of Transparencia por Colombia said that there is still no substantial progress in Congress to address the structural issues necessary to strengthen the fight against corruption in Colombia, especially in relation to political reform, which is crucial to address electoral financing issues.

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Hernández added that the recent scandals reaffirm the need for a thorough review of the country’s current regulations and indicated that there are pending reforms, such as those related to state contracting and whistleblower protection measures.

He also said that he hopes that the new legislature will address these issues in a comprehensive manner and incorporate responsible resource management in the reforms that the government has presented to Congress and the country, such as the reforms to health and to Law 30 of 1992, on public university education, which are beginning to be debated.

Corruption in Colombia: a marginal issue for the government

Regarding the balance of the first year of President Petro’s administration, the Executive Director of Transparencia por Colombia pointed out that so far the efforts made in the fight against corruption in Colombia are insufficient.

Dr. Hernandez expressed his concern that, in view of the scandals involving circles close to the President, the anti-corruption discourse and the promise to combat corrupt criminal structures that the President put forward during his campaign could lose credibility.

Dr. Hernandez considers it essential to address ethical leadership and adopt the necessary measures by the national government as a way to reaffirm its commitment to the anti-corruption fight, which has been left on the back burner of the government’s agenda.

In addition, he stressed the importance of justice being able to move forward in the judicial processes, with adequate guarantees in the cases of the scandals related to the alleged irregular financing of the President’s campaign, and insisted on the need to address other technical aspects that require attention, such as the protection of whistleblowers.

Issues such as the illegal financing of electoral campaigns, the use of public resources for political proselytism, appointments for clientelist purposes, arbitrariness in the allocation of resources and opacity in budget allocations deserve greater attention from the government and citizens, insisted the Executive Director of Transparencia por Colombia.

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