… and more than half the nations’ business people
Portuguese and Spaniards believe two out of every three politicians are corrupt, and around 50% of their country’s business people, according to a recent joint study.
The report, ‘Comparative perceptions of corruption in Spain and Portugal’, shows citizens are under no illusions. They equally believe 40% of civil servants are ‘on the take’.
In terms of what kind of corrupt practices concern people the most, it is not the payment of bribes, but the interaction between politics and business.
According to the report, 80% of those surveyed in Portugal – and 70% in Spain – consider corruption to be something that is part of their country’s business culture and not something circumstantial (this compares to 60% of Europeans, meaning citizens of Iberia see corruption ‘at work’ more than most).
The conclusions have been presented by Fernando Jiménez, professor of Political Science at the University of Murcia, Gustavo Gouvêa Maciel, a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon (ICS-UL) and Joan Llinares, director of the Valencia Anti-Fraud Agency.
The study was carried out on the basis of surveys in each country and with “representative samples of the population”, according to Lusa.
The first phase took place between December 2020 and April 2021 and was part of the EPOCA project, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology and under the scientific coordination of ICS-UL.
The second survey was carried out in Spain with the support of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and under the scientific coordination of the University of Murcia.
The aim was to analyse the public’s perception of different aspects related to corruption, ethics and the integrity of elements of public life in both countries.
“Although there are differences between Portugal and Spain, the study notes that there are general trends that place corruption as a worrying problem for both countries, with implications for trust in institutions and democracy – pointing to the need for an appropriate political response”, writes Lusa.
One of the biggest differences between the two countries is clientelism (cronysim). While in Portugal the percentage of respondents who believe political cronyism is “necessary” (meaning, the only way to do business) is 70%, in Spain this percentage drops to 49%, close to the European average of 50%.
Source material: LUSA
