HomeNewsBriefUsing Open Source Data to Combat Corruption in Paraguay
BRIEF

Using Open Source Data to Combat Corruption in Paraguay

ELITES AND CRIME / 17 DEC 2020 BY GABRIEL GONZÁLEZ EN

A digital platform in Paraguay is seeking to improve the detection of cases of corruption and embezzlement in a country with a poor track record in addressing this issue. 

The Institute of Environmental Law and Economics (Instituto de Derecho y Economía Ambiental - IDEA) and other non-governmental organizations recently launched Control Ciudadano (Citizen’s Control), a platform that gathers public information from different official Paraguayan government websites.  

The platform allows for information from Paraguayan government departments, such as data related to purchases made during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports about elected officials, details of suppliers winning public contracts and affidavits published by the Comptroller's Office, to be visualized and cross-checked. 

SEE ALSO: Coverage of What Works

Providing access to reports about the income and assets of all officials elected between 1998 and 2017 was made possible, due to a decision by the Supreme Court mandating that this information be made public.  

According to the 2020 Anti-Corruption Capacity Index (CCC), Paraguay is among the worst countries in Latin America at confronting this problem. The challenges given included a lack of judicial independence, poor management of electoral financing, negligence in certain legislative processes and organized crime's influence among various spheres of government. 

This same report highlighted how Paraguay’s civil society was participating in transparency efforts.

InSight Crime Analysis

The lack of transparency around such areas as bidding on public contracts or assets owned by officials has facilitated corruption in all corners of Latin America. Paraguay is no exception but this involvement of solutions developed by civil society may offer an effective way of promoting transparency.

Other examples already exist in the region. 

For example, the platform Latamleaks, launched in February 2020, integrates websites from different countries in the region and aims to provide a safe space for citizens to anonymously denounce corruption. This methodology was first used in Mexico five years ago and has enabled media outlets and civilian organizations to investigate big corruption scandals, such as Odebrecht.

SEE ALSO: Paraguay News and Profiles

In Venezuela, a country with high levels of corruption, non-governmental organizations have shed light on irregularities and the misappropriation of public funds. Transparencia Venezuela, the Rebel Alliance Investigates (Alianza Rebelde Investiga) and the investigative journalism platform Connectas made a digital tool available with 230 cases of corruption committed by government officials within the last 20 years.

While such tools do not address the root causes of corruption, Control Ciudadano may help prompt the Paraguayan government to add layers of transparency in its management of public resources. As mentioned by Federico Legal, the director of Paraguay's Institute for Environmental Law and Economics (Instituto de Derecho y Economía Ambiental - IDEA) at the launch of the Control Ciudadano platform, “as there is more citizen participation, the possibilities and risks of corruption are greatly reduced.”

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ELITES AND CRIME / 23 FEB 2023

New arrests in the case of the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse suggest about whether access to state contracts…

ELITES AND CRIME / 14 JUN 2022

Dario Messer, one of the most audacious money launderers in Latin American history, is facing jail time in Brazil but…

COCAINE / 7 SEP 2022

César Peralta, alias "El Abusador," became the most powerful and well-connected drug trafficker in the Dominican Republic.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…