MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latinamericans most skeptical about corruption

Latin Americans are the people more inclined to view their countries' institutions and politics as corrupt, according to a Gallup survey commissioned by the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Latin America is also the only region in the world where political parties are considered as the "most corrupt institutions in society".

The TI survey was compiled for the Global Corruption Barometer 2005, which the organization will release Friday in Paris to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.

Latin Americans are also disenchanted with their Legislative branches which have a corruption perception index of 4.4 (out of 5) and similarly with the criminal justice system, ranked 4.3.

Faring better are schools and health care with 3.2; non-governmental organizations, 3.1; and religious institutions, 2.8.

Of the 13 countries worldwide where a sharp increase in corruption perception since 2002 has been recorded, nine belong to Latin America: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

However Colombia is among the six countries where corruption allegedly has decreased considerably in the last three years.

TI, a Berlin-based group exclusively dedicated to fighting and exposing corruption, commissioned Gallup to survey 55,000 people in 69 countries.