The discontent of Brazilians with the topic has become more than evident in recent months, but do we really think on all sides of the problem?

By Marina Pinhoni, Exame.com - 20/08/2013

São Paulo - Brazilians' dissatisfaction with corruption has been more than evident in recent months with the demonstrations that have taken over the country. Although the protests triggered the increase in public transport fares, corruption was also identified as one of the main reasons for taking protesters to the streets.

“If you compare Brazil with other countries in the evaluation of politicians, if you have a perception of corruption that is much higher than the world average”, says Roberto Abdenur, director of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), which launched this month the book “Corruption - Barrier to the Development of Brazil”, organized by journalist Oscar Pillagalo.

Although the population's outrage comes due to the obvious conclusion that diverted resources should be used in essential areas such as health, education and transport, there is often no awareness that the practice of corruption also hides other consequences as serious as this.

In an interview with EXAME.com, Abdenur helps to list these consequences. Check out below 5 damaging effects not visible from corruption.

1) Multiplication of losses

"A recent study by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) shows that each R $ 1 diverted by corruption represents a damage to the economy and society of R $ 3", says the director of ETCO.

Failure to pay taxes and jobs that will no longer be created, for example, enter this account. According to Abdenur, although it is not possible to measure exactly what the total damage caused by corruption is, the multiplying factors cannot be ignored.

2) “Contamination” of the honest

Another effect that can be noticed is the “contamination” of honest people by the corrupt. Public officials who previously performed their duties correctly may start to act thinking for their own benefit when they perceive the advantages that dishonest colleagues obtain. At the very least, you will feel a great disincentive in the profession.

If not out of greed, this "contamination" can also happen under pressure: often honest people are threatened if they do not agree to be part of the scheme in force in their area. For the director of ETCO, the “vaccine” against this problem is the adoption of severe punishment measures.

3) Increased inefficiency

Excessive bureaucracy can also be part of the vicious cycle of corruption. "Inefficiency fuels corruption and corruption fuels inefficiency," says Abdenur.

The ETCO director gives as an example in this case the figure of the dispatcher, who is an intermediary hired by the citizen in the face of the difficulty of having access to a service that is public. “Sometimes these dispatchers end up bribing public servants to speed up the service. Excessive bureaucracy makes the system even more expensive, ”he says.

4) Feeling of impunity of the citizen

Reducing corruption to zero is almost impossible. "Even in more developed countries there is corruption and sometimes it is not small," says Abdenur. The main problem in Brazil then, in the expert's opinion, is the lack of correct punishment for this type of crime. “In Brazil, there is a serious problem of impunity. In the United States, the average for a sentence in corruption cases to come out is one year. In Brazil, this time is ten, ”he says.

According to him, the amount of resources allowed by the Brazilian judicial system contributes to the cases being dragged to their prescription, causing the guilty to leave their accusations unharmed. “This creates a culture of leniency with transgressions. The citizen may think: 'if the politician steals and nothing happens, then I will also stop paying my taxes ”, he says.

5) Demoralization of institutions (and democracy)

A survey carried out by Ibope at the height of the June demonstrations had already pointed out that 89% of respondents did not feel represented by political parties. Earlier this month, a new survey by the institution revealed that Brazilians' confidence in institutions in general and in social groups fell 7 points compared to last year.

“There is a lot of discredit to politicians and consequently to parties and institutions. The State is facing a crisis that will only be resolved with the creation of more bridges of dialogue with society ”, says Abdenur.

However, the director of ETCO believes that discrediting institutions is often exaggerated. "We must remove the idea that the country is the worst country in the world," he says. “The scenario is not as bad as people think. The country is better than many of our Latin American neighbors in international rankings of corruption, for example ”.

The director of ETCO states that Brazil has strong control bodies and institutions such as the Federal Comptroller General (CGU) and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), which have made progress in their autonomy in recent years.

Abdenur also welcomes President Dilma Rousseff's recent approval of the law that punishes companies that commit crimes against the public administration.