An Agenda Forward
Join us for a discussion of the newly released report, Corruption: Its Path and Impact on Society and an Agenda to Combat It in the Northern Triangle of Central America, produced by the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI), a NED grantee.
The report is a comparative study of the relationship between corruption and democracy in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. While the twin challenges of corruption and impunity are widely understood to undermine confidence in public institutions, the rule of law, and democratic governance, ICEFI’s new report moves beyond generalities and highlights the main paths of corruption within each state. The report quantifies the social costs of corruption – for example, highlighting the percentage of different Ministries’ budgets lost to specific corruption cases or schemes, and its impact on public goods and services.
We will be joined by Ricardo Barrientos, a senior economist with ICEFI and a contributor to this landmark study.
Featuring:
Ricardo Barrientos, Senior Economist, Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI)
Commentary by
Juan Pablo Guerrero, Network Director, Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency
moderated by
Janelle Nodhturft Williams, Program Officer, National Endowment for Democracy
About the Speakers
Ricardo Barrientos is a senior economist at the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies (ICEFI), a think tank dedicated to the research and analysis of fiscal, governance and public policy issues. Previously, he served as Guatemala’s Vice-Minister of Public Finance (2009-2010) in charge of fiscal transparency. During the period 1994-2005, he served as director and technical advisor at the Fiscal Analysis Unit at the Ministry of Public Finance of Guatemala. He has also worked as an independent consultant, and published works on tax policy and tax evasion analysis in Guatemala. Mr. Barrientos completed doctoral studies in Mathematics at the University of Barcelona, Spain; holds an International Tax Certificate from Harvard University; and a Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
Juan Pablo Guerrero is the Network Director of the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency, a multi-stakeholder action network working to advance global norms and improvements on fiscal transparency and participation. He was the Secretary General of the Federal Institute for Access to Information & Data Protection in Mexico (2013-14), where he previously was founding information commissioner 2002-2009. He was the manager of the Mentoring Governments for Transparency Program at the International Budget Partnership (2009-13). Before 2003, he was a university professor at the Center for Research & Teaching in Economics in Mexico (1994-2003). He started his carrier as news reporter and correspondent in Washington and Paris, where he studied Masters and PhD programs in public policy.
- All cameras and media must register with NED public affairs.
- Please email press@ned.org to register as a member of the press.
