The Constitution and Legislation Committee of the Senate ChamberThe bill was unanimously approved, establishing the suspension and cessation of the right to collect subsidies by political and private officials in the event of proven involvement in corruption cases in public administration.
The initiative had been presented by the Colorado Party, specifically by the deputy Conrad Rodriguez in 2017, a project that was finally archived as it was not addressed at the time.
However, it was reintroduced “due to the importance of regulating a situation of regulatory vacuum in our legislation, in the event of the commission by those holding political or confidential positions of crimes against the public administration and corruption, when accessing a subsidy from the State.”
Among the reasons given during the presentation, it is established that “in cases where the official who performs a political office or of particular trust, commits crimes against the Public Administration or others linked to the corruption, “Most of the foundations of the subsidy, created to give certain security to the official who holds positions of preeminence in decision-making and acts with dedication, integrity, impartiality and rectitude, are falling.”
What are the steps to follow?
Once approved by the Constitution and Legislation Committeethe bill will go to the Senate for a vote. It had previously been approved by Deputies but will have to return due to a modification made to article 1 during the evaluation process in commission.
The article stated that the right to collect the subsidy established by Law 15,900 of 1987 and modified by Law 16,195 in 1991, is suspended “with the prosecution or with the fiscal accusation and is extinguished with the final, agreed or enforceable conviction sentence.”
Uruguay’s ability to combat corruption
According to the annual index of capacity to combat corruption prepared by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas along with Control RiskUruguay lowered its score although it remains the best-rated country in Latin America.
He Combating Capacity Index Corruption The 2023 CCC ranked Uruguay first with 6.99 out of 10. A maximum score of 10 reflects a country that is more likely to prosecute and penalize corruption.
Uruguay, which had a 6% drop in its overall score and has been on a downward trend for two years, recorded setbacks in key variables of legal capacity such as judicial independence and effectiveness, the ability to combat white-collar crime and international cooperation in law and order, the CCC report noted.
The country scored 6.54 in the category Legal Capacitywhile it was 7.51 in Civil Society and Mediaachieving its highest rating in the category Democracy and Political Institutions with 7.98.
Source: Ambito
