The impunity that marks cases of corruption remains a serious problem in the country. An analysis carried out by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) and Tojil revealed that of 24 state anti-corruption prosecutors analyzed, between January 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020, the prosecution of cases went from 0 to just 13 per hundred.
The report states that, in the aforementioned period, the prosecutors of Guanajuato, Guerrero, Nayarit and San Luis Potosí did not prosecute any investigation, that is, there were no cases that were brought before a judge.
The anti-corruption prosecutor’s office with the best results in the field was that of Sonora, with only 13% of its cases prosecuted.
“This data is not surprising in a country where less than 2.5% of criminal investigations initiated are linked to proceedings, and less than 1% go to trial,” the report stated.
In total, the 24 anti-corruption prosecutors with data initiated, in the aforementioned period, 17,982 investigations of which only 863 (4.7%) were prosecuted.
Folder relief
Regarding the determinations of the investigation files, that is, those cases in which the authority decided that they should go to a temporary archive; no criminal action was taken, they refrained from investigating or a criterion of opportunity was applied, Tamaulipas was placed as the entity with the highest percentage of determined investigation folders (71%), followed by the State of Mexico (68%) and Zacatecas (57 %).
In contrast, Tlaxcala (4%), Hidalgo (6%) and Colima (9%) were the ones with the lowest performance in the matter.
Regarding the possible determinations, the states that used the criterion of opportunity were: Aguascalientes (two in the 137 investigations initiated), Chihuahua (one in the 114 investigations initiated), Estado de México (five in the 6,266), Hidalgo (one in the 450), Oaxaca (one at 1,137), Quintana Roo (four at 1,516) and Yucatán (one at 214).
In this context, the report also warned that some state anti-corruption prosecutors lack an adequate institutional design, as well as sufficient resources and human capital for their operation.
Budget
In terms of resources, between 2019 and 2020 the budget was reduced in eight anti-corruption prosecutors (Guanajuato, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Hidalgo, Colima, Quintana Roo and Veracruz) which was between 1 (Guanajuato) and up to 71% (Quintana Roo) less.
The NGO report warned that, in general, of the 24 anti-corruption prosecutors analyzed, none has budgetary independence since their allocation and exercise depends on the state prosecutor’s office.
“The lack of ownership of material goods presents a risk for the operation and continuity of the institution. At the national level, less than half of the anticorruption prosecutors reported acquiring material goods, “the document noted.
The report concluded that “although the states already have an anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, they do not have the adequate resources, regulations, personnel or processes. For this reason, the results are still insufficient and unsatisfactory ”.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx