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It is the judgment of Brazil's Federal Sub-Comptroller General, Jorge Hage, that the choice of Brazil to host the 4th Global Forum to Combat Corruption demonstrates the international recognition Brazil has won for its efforts to fight corruption.
"It is the world's acknowledgment that Brazil has withdrawn from that totally negligent position of previous administrations in this area and placed the fight against corruption at the top of the federal government's agenda," Hage said today.
According to Hage, the new image of Brazil in international circles reflects the job done by the Federal Comptroller-General's Office and the Federal Police, among other factors.
Hage said that in previous administrations, the State was weakened, which allowed corruption to advance.
"A fragile State is much more susceptible to corruption. Now, under Lula's administration, when the control mechanisms are beginning to be rebuilt and the war on corruption is making headway - we have a free and independent Ministry of Public Defense, which even denounces Ministers of State -, all of this makes corruption visible."
Hage emphasized that the impression people have nowadays is that corruption is growing, but, in fact, what is growing is the visibility of the cases and the war against the practice.
"And this visibility is good, because it motivates and increases the awareness of the population, which begins to participate through social control," he concluded.
In his opinion, in order for the war on corruption to become more effective, it is necessary for each citizen to monitor how government funds are spent.
"However much we are able to improve the institutional mechanisms for combating corruption and controlling government spending, this will never achieve all the control that is required.
"It is also necessary for each citizen to become a monitor of public funds, because, after all, it's his money, and all of ours, as taxpayers."
The 4th Global Forum to Combat Corruption started yesterday and runs through Friday, June 10, in Brasília. Sponsored by the Federal Comptroller-General's Office and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the event is expected to bring together delegations from one hundred countries.
Agência Brasil
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