J.P. Marín-Arrese | The corruption scandal involving a former minister, second in command of Mr Sánchez in the Socialist party, not only inflicts political damage. It dents Spain’s credibility as a reliable country. The disclosure of the tepid way an unscrupulous gang managed to ransack public funds and indulge in influence peddling portrays a dismal picture of governance enforcement. Even PM Sánchez proved most economical with the truth at Parliament when…
Caixin | Until recently, Chinese officials could rest assured that their path on the bureaucratic ladder went only upward, unless they were punished for some reason, usually corruption. No more. A policy passed in June 2015 by the Communist Party’s second-highest decision-making body, the 25-member Politburo, stipulated that officials should be demoted for failing to meet the requirements of their post.
MADRID| Sean Duffy | Judge´s ruling piles pressure on former executives of Bankia, including former IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato.
MADRID | By Sean Duffy | It may come as a surprise to Spaniards who observe their elected leaders being hauled before judges, into police stations or sentenced to terms behind bars, but Spain is actually less corrupt than it was a year ago.
MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Over the last couple of years, polls have been registering the rise of corruption on the list of the major concerns for Spaniards, and now it is the second largest concern –behind unemployment. At the same time, expectations for the next elections have been plummeting, especially for the major parties, which have been affected most by corruption. Throughout the democratic history of the country, the two biggest Spanish parties usually gathered three quarters of the parliamentary seats. Now, they barely reach half of that amount.
MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | According to the US-based organisation One, corruption takes around $1tn a year out of poor countries and kills millions. Yet this evil is not strange to developed nations. In Spain, 127 politicians are facing corruption charges although they have not lost their jobs. The last big scandal affects former Catalan leader Jordi Pujol, who in July admitted hiding an inheritance abroad for more than 30 years. A storm embarrassing the current ruling regional government who has called a referendum in November on whether the region should break from the rest of Spain. Madrid may seek criminal charges, Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro (see picture above) said on Tuesday. For some analysts, this could be a strategy to dent nationalism support.
By Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo | On 24 July, thousands of students took for several hours the precincts of the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE) and made it to the streets of Malabo. An unusual fact, they were demanding the payment of their grants. Although the Army and police forcefully repressed the demonstrations, the government reaction was far from the bloodbath occurred in December 1992, when more than a hundred of students, teachers, opponents and priests were tortured in police stations. Now President Teodoro Obiang hurried to meet the demands of students and national oil company’s GEPETROL workers, who were missing several months’ wages.
MADRID | By Fernando G. Ubaneja | Several corruption cases have put Spain under the international spotlight. The latest, which emerged by surprise on Friday and has been the talk of the town since then, is related to one its most controversial and rich regions: Catalonia. The independence campaign suffered a setback after the leading figure of Catalan nationalism Jordi Pujol admitted keeping undeclared funds in fiscal havens.
The Brazilian government can spend $11.5 billion on the World Cup, but they must had an empty wallet when it came to spending money on education, health care and transport. Therefore, Brazilians themselves can be the drivers of change if they are united.
SHANGHAI | Via Caixin | To root out the graft that has seeped into every aspect of the society and economy, China must build institutions that put power under scrutiny. No one is off-limits in the government’s campaign against corruption. CCTV financial news channel director Guo Zhenxi was put under investigation late last month, three months after the sacking of security vice-minister Li Dongsheng, who also worked for the state broadcaster.