INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH EDITION GARZON
literary excerpts: READING
Punishing corruption
Baltasar Garzón 25/04/2010
The concept of corruption is confusing and because its broad physical sense is applicable to any object, and intellectual aspects, sentimental, political, social and economic human beings in general. Not everyone is sold for money. The motivations of those who fall into corruption often go beyond economics: the conviction, hatred or revenge, to interests of any kind, including the favor of their own, can corrupt a person. Nor is there one kind of corruption, as it can be public or private, classical or modern, and affect institutions or parts of the state or of justice in democratic systems or dictatorships. But it is essentially a phenomenon generator injustice and inequality among citizens and, therefore, of distrust: the absence of appropriate responses by those who have a duty to prosecute corrupt practices and they do not, it is presumed corruption system. Increase
and disinterest in the defense of public apathy towards the need to generate a reset ethical base your education and learning.
Political corruption, the economic hand, results in a kind of privatization of the state. The servers that become "owners" of public services rather than managers themselves. Cobra concept of patrimonial power of these services to the detriment of the democratic idea of \u200b\u200bcitizen services. And it leads to this city, coercively, to believe in the safety, or even the goodness of the phenomenon.
This statement explains that corruption in Spain in 2008, occupied one of the last places in the ranking order issues of concern to citizens, and becomes understandable that politicians accused, investigated or convicted of corruption continue to have popular support in subsequent periods. So for many, sadly, the worse the evidence of their stupidity to be surprised that being recognized as corrupt.
If something tells us the map of corruption anywhere in the world at any time, is that only courageous and determined leadership can overcome the problem, overcoming the popular indifference and remain vigilant and intransigent in the face corrupt behavior. Good governance, obtained by the action coordinated control agencies to reduce the space for corruption, is essential for effective strategy against the problem. And that governance, in fact, be strengthened on the basis of a fight against corruption, which in turn will provide institutions with the necessary authority to convey not only the appearance of legality, but also the ethical strength is not to compromise with public and private corruption.
's assertion that in a democratic system, some degree of corruption are necessary to sustain the scheme of political parties, which leads to the acceptance of financial malpractice, is unacceptable, because the credibility of a political party must lie not only in the coherence and democratic character of his ideas, but also in the transparency of its resources, reflecting the honesty of their leaders.
Although it is clear, there are many criminal codes that make it a criminal illegal financing of political parties, one of the most common forms of corruption. Even in some systems it has been decided, almost without controversy, clearly support the action of lobbies or pressure groups and economic policy in election campaigns (the United States Supreme Court, in 2010, has sentenced the legality of actions of these groups, a decision that the president has criticized Barack Obama energy, himself who promoted the rule of prohibition).
is an undeniable fact that corruption is also an ideal tool for organized crime and the development and implementation of its methods in political and economic systems and financial institutions, law enforcement or judicial authorities to get more space impunity. Because "any form of government is free to the development of transnational criminal organizations, no legal system can fully control the growth of the crime and any economic or financial system is safe from the temptation to profit from levels well above those that are achievable with legal activities "(Louise Shelley, American University).
Organized crime has penetrated many countries, from local to national or federal authority, through the financing of political campaigns for the election of its members as deputies. Recall the case of narco or parapolitics in countries like Colombia, the purchase of political will by the Mafia in Italy or the appointment of government officials by criminal groups in Mexico.
If this is a fact, so is the association of each other transnational criminal groups, such as a need arising from self-organized activity and the complexity and globalization of the markets that attack. That growth, interestingly, makes them more vulnerable to coordinated action by the justice of different countries, which has been provided with appropriate tools to carry it out. Therefore, it is in this way to add impact due to the effects of prevention, pursuit of a suitable mixed phenomenon "organized crime-corruption."
Not much talk about corruption does not mean ceased to exist. On the contrary, what happened is that those who practice it have become more expert and have left the black flag with skull black case pirate by computer, and the bag with the gun by the executive's briefcase. They have achieved a new triumph: that is to stop talking about them, so you do not notice penetration boards of large companies and multilateral agencies, contributing to money laundering from the various sectors of the crime with impunity behaviors, applying constraints to any kind of research.
It follows from the need for the phenomenon of corruption become visible, terminated and is made clear in all its cruelty, indifference to preclude it.
Today, the issue of corruption, especially in our country, is subject to debate. But behind formulations of intransigence over the same, there are attitudes of understanding, especially when it comes to political corruption. Cases in which certain media take positions not necessarily factual, but concealing and burdensome for the course of justice.
The news is happening so fast that the citizen does not have time to assimilate what they read, hear or see in the different media, but not quit at a critical perception of the different cases. Perhaps one could say that, so far this century, corruption has become a kind of plague bacillus from far away, as we are told in this book brilliantly Carlo Alberto Brioschi, and now known as any system infection, purulent hatching. In his foreword, Brioschi himself asks: "Who cares if Caesar himself is a thief?". No one comes to meet the author. Nero and Caligula, have passed into history just as the saints, he says. But you do not go so far, suggests the author. We know of cases of blatant corruption that have been involved certain politicians whose electoral support and political judgments are not affected by such conduct. Quite the contrary. Understandably, the party propaganda machines, or some of them, anesthetize the memory of the citizens to get forgotten or, at least, condescension to the promise that certain facts will no longer occur and that cleanliness and purity management will in future be the standard. However, over time, the scenario is repeated, and some "stumbling blocks" to apologize at the prospect of an electoral victory that ensures that things will be different.
With
Brioschi irony recalls that, according to Octavio Paz, "a nation begins to decay when its syntax is corrupted." The appointment involves a long-range thinking: corruption is not nothing but the violent disruption of order, established rules. But it also happens that exploit the rules to subvert its content and look for areas of impunity.
(...) The last chapters of this brief history of corruption focus on the current status of this issue, in a world where the global nature of the political and economic connections gives problems universal scale. Brioschi considers the major crash and future financial corruption, and recalls how, at the time of its greatest economic expansion, the United States conducted by the dishonesty of their political and economic class business, a vital contribution to the development of all forms of petty corruption. In this regard cites English sociologist Jose Ramos: "In this society of growing inequality, corruption is both a symptom and a strategy." And so, the author introduces the corruption factor in the study of democracy. Ramos continued:
"It is true that corruption has always existed and if so apparent before was not only because the ideology hidden politics. Under Franco, the whole regime was corrupt, and in European democracies corruption was a taboo until the dissolution of the enemy also removed the old ideological priorities. "
It goes even further by saying that" in extent that political life is subject to the requirements of economic power, the territories are confused and public-private mix, and transfer mechanisms generate constant power to another. "
(... ) I can not conclude this note as a preface to the book of Brioschi without reference to a subject the author touches briefly in his introduction. Brioschi alludes to Giuliano Ferrara suggestion that judges should not decide on the fate of governments, and by extension, of the rulers. The author responds by citing, inter alia, ILVO Diamanti, who recalls: "We must not forget that corruption and irregularities they were not invented by judges." Giulio
Calamandrei added thereon in the same context: "The biggest risk is not a judge-only-external pressures, but internal depletion of conscience." Let each one do his reflections on this particular issue, without forgetting that corruption also often nest in the judiciary.
Independence judiciary is the bulwark for proper governance. This independence must be proclaimed as the political power (executive, legislative, political parties themselves) and the economic (financial institutions, banks, corporations). My reference to the political and economic power is intentional because politics today depends on the economic power and global multinational corporations that ultimately control their development. It is therefore essential to have a strong judiciary, independent and immovable, capable of investigating and punishing corruption over any other circumstance, always from the law, but without the mediation of those who seek to exercise control political about it, from inside or outside.
conclude from the hand of Machiavelli, who Carlo Alberto Brioschi often quoted: "Not without reason it is said that the people's voice is the voice of God. The public forecast events in a lucid they will say that people are endowed with the power to foresee what distinguishes good from evil, "says the author in his text on Livy. But, today, can we share this affirmation in a world in which the media decide what is and what is not, which is praised or humiliated by political or economic interest in that defend or attack depending on what is obtained or lost? The responsibility of the media is such that it can be argued that its proper use depends on the future of a society that, like it or not, is essentially media.
