Why Is Spain A "Country Of Thieves"?

Nine months ago, I recommended an article from Politico about Spanish corruption. In it, one of Diego Torres' sources described my country's political misconduct as somewhere "between pornographic and mafia-like". Still, as much as I liked the article, I think it needed further research to connect corruption to its roots, back to the time of the dictatorship. Well, here it is.

In its most recent Corruption Perceptions Index, published just a few weeks ago, Transparency International ranks Spain in the 42nd place (out of 180). It's not the worst country in the EU (Bulgaria has that "honor"), but it's not a good result at all. Corruption is the second concern for Spaniards, only after unemployment.

This social malaise is so prevalent that it defeats the political discourse, making politicians from all over the spectrum appear tainted. This is crucial, as it explains why there's such little action against corruption and why even those who are blatantly guilty usually don't plead so. And that's the first case brought up by the story. Conservative Ricardo Costa recently assumed his party's dirty funds:

“It’s true that the PP financed its 2007 election campaign with dirty money,” he said at one point. “I didn’t denounce that and I am willing to assume responsibility for it. I acknowledge the accusations and I apologize.”

However, what makes this article stand above the rest is, as said above, its success in looking for the roots of corruption in Spain's 40 years of fascist dictatorship. This also gives extra points, as it's useful to understand corruption in other countries too. 

“Managing such a huge amount of money in such a young democracy is very difficult unless you maintain the methods learned during the dictatorship.”

There's still room for improvement, as those methods should be explored and brought together, but Politico is definitely heading in the right direction. I'm waiting for the next installment of this series!