Stagnation and Asymmetries in Governance: An Analysis of the Corruption Perceptions Index in Central America (2024)
Stagnation and Asymmetries in
Governance: An Analysis of the Corruption Perceptions Index in Central America
(2024)
Public Administration Consultant / PhD in Human and Social Sciences from the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain
Published in the Actualidad Centroamericana Magazine of ICAP Costa Rica
Abstract
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is
one of the most widely cited global indicators for assessing public-sector
integrity. This article examines the 2024 CPI results for Central American
countries, revealing a regional landscape characterized by structural
stagnation and persistently critically low scores. Through a comparative
analysis, it identifies key factors driving this trend, including the weakening
of judicial independence, state capture by economic and political elites, and
systemic impunity. Although Costa Rica retains a relative regional lead, it
faces growing pressures, while the Northern Triangle and Nicaragua exhibit
chronic accountability deficits. The article concludes that cosmetic reforms
are insufficient and advocates a public-policy approach focused on
strengthening institutions, protecting civic space, and conducting forensic
audits of public procurement.
Keywords: Corruption Perceptions Index,
public governance, rule of law, accountability, Central American public
administration.
Introduction
Corruption in the public sector is not merely a crime; it is a
systemic failure of public administration that erodes public trust, distorts
the efficient allocation of resources, and deepens structural inequalities. To
measure this phenomenon, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), produced
annually by Transparency International, aggregates assessments by experts and
business executives regarding perceived corruption in the public sector, using
a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) (Transparency
International, 2025a).
In Central America, anti-corruption efforts have achieved occasional
advances but lack structural sustainability. This article analyzes the 2024 CPI
data for the region, breaking down national scores, identifying common patterns
of institutional deterioration, and proposing courses of action for public
administration across the region.
Regional
Overview: The 2024 CPI in Central America
The 2024 CPI data, which assesses 182
countries and territories, confirm that Central America remains one of the
subregions facing the greatest challenges in public integrity worldwide
(Transparency International, 2025b). The following table presents the scores
and rankings of the countries of the isthmus.
Table 1. Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in Central
America, 2024
|
Country |
2024 CPI
score (0–100)* |
Global
rank (out of 182) |
Change
from 2023 |
|
Costa Rica |
56 |
46 |
−2 |
|
Panama |
33 |
116 |
0 |
|
El Salvador |
32 |
120 |
+2 |
|
Guatemala |
26 |
142 |
+1 |
|
Honduras |
22 |
157 |
0 |
|
Nicaragua |
14 |
175 |
0 |
Note. Scale
from 0 (perceived as highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived as free of corruption).
Prepared by the author based on official data from Transparency International
(2025a, 2025c, 2025d, 2025e, 2025f, 2025g, 2025h).
As shown, no Central American country
exceeds 60 points, a threshold that Transparency International considers
necessary to indicate effective control of corruption. The region displays a
profound gap between Costa Rica, which remains in the upper global tier, and
Nicaragua, which ranks among the ten worst-performing countries worldwide
(Transparency International, 2025g).
Analysis of
the Structural Factors Behind Deterioration
CPI scores are not arbitrary; they reflect deep institutional
dynamics. Specialized literature and Transparency International’s regional
reports identify three main drivers of this stagnation:
1. Weakening of judicial independence. Corruption thrives where impunity is the norm. In several countries
in the region, processes involving the co-optation of supreme courts and
attorney general’s offices have been documented, preventing the investigation
and punishment of white-collar and high-level corruption crimes (Transparency
International, 2025b). Without an autonomous judiciary, anti-corruption laws
become dead letters.
2. State capture and opacity in public
procurement. Economic and political elites have
managed to infiltrate decision-making mechanisms, particularly in the awarding
of public works, concessions, and government contracts. The lack of open data
and the weakness of internal oversight bodies facilitate the diversion of
resources (Transparency International, 2025a).
3. Restrictions on civic and journalistic
space. There is a direct correlation between
declining CPI scores and the contraction of civic space. The criminalization of
protest, attacks on investigative journalists, and the weakness of organized
civil society eliminate the main mechanisms for external oversight of the state
(Transparency International, 2025b).
Regional
Nuances: Resilience and Setbacks
·
Costa Rica: Although it retains its historic regional lead (ranked 46th), the
negative change (−2 points) signals early warning signs. Recent scandals
involving the influence of lobbying groups in the legislature and challenges to
transparency in emergency public procurement have tested its institutions
(Transparency International, 2025c).
·
The Northern Triangle
(Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador): These
countries share a legacy of institutional weakness. Although Guatemala and El
Salvador show marginal positive changes (+1 and +2 points, respectively), these
do not represent structural improvement, but rather statistical fluctuations
within a range of “widespread corruption” (Transparency International, 2025d,
2025e). Honduras, meanwhile, remains stagnant at 22 points, burdened by the
legacy of major embezzlement scandals and the persistent influence of organized
crime within state structures (Transparency International, 2025f).
·
Nicaragua: With 14 points, the country reflects an almost total collapse of
accountability mechanisms, with state institutions functioning as extensions of
executive power and eliminating democratic checks and balances (Transparency
International, 2025g).
Institutional
Barriers to Reform
From a public-administration perspective,
anti-corruption efforts in the region encounter endogenous barriers:
·
Fragmentation of oversight
bodies: Overlapping responsibilities among
comptroller’s offices, ombudsman institutions, and prosecutors’ offices create
accountability gaps and jurisdictional conflicts.
·
Weak merit-based
human-resource policies: Persistent clientelism and
cronyism (the spoils system) in public service prevent the professionalization
of administrative careers, leaving institutions vulnerable to corrupt
infiltration.
·
Lack of effective regional
cooperation: Despite frameworks such as the United
Nations Convention against Corruption, mutual legal assistance and asset
recovery among Central American countries remain slow and bureaucratic.
Conclusions
The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index makes clear that Central
America faces a governance crisis that cannot be resolved through isolated
regulatory reforms. In several states, corruption has ceased to be a marginal
phenomenon and has become a model of public-sector management. Reversing this
trend requires moving from rhetorical anti-corruption efforts to a
comprehensive public-policy strategy that prioritizes: (a) safeguarding
judicial independence, (b) implementing fully digital and auditable public procurement
systems, and (c) actively protecting whistleblowers and investigative
journalists.
Areas for
Future Research
Given the complexity of this phenomenon, future research in the
human and social sciences should adopt an interdisciplinary approach. It would
be valuable to analyze how the historical memory of armed conflicts in the
region influences current structures of loyalty and corruption within the state
bureaucracy. Comparative forensic-audit studies of specific infrastructure
contracts are also recommended, cross-referencing CPI data with
executive-performance indicators to measure the actual economic cost of corruption
in the region’s gross domestic product (GDP).
References
Transparency International. (2025a). Corruption Perceptions Index
2024. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024
Transparency International. (2025b). CPI 2024 for the Americas:
Corruption fuels environmental crime and impunity across the region.
https://www.transparency.org/en/press/2024-corruption-perceptions-index-corruption-fuels-environmental-crime-across-the-americas
Transparency International. (2025c). Country profile: Costa Rica.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/costa-rica
Transparency International. (2025d). Country profile: El Salvador.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/el-salvador
Transparency International. (2025e). Country profile: Guatemala.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/guatemala
Transparency International. (2025f). Country profile: Honduras.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/honduras
Transparency International. (2025g). Country profile: Nicaragua.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/nicaragua
Transparency International. (2025h). Country profile: Panama.
https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/panama
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