The week in corruption, 3 May 2019

How do you like your eggs? Scrambled? Hard boiled? How about raw and with some toilet paper on the side.

That’s how Paraguayans have been serving them to corrupt politicians recently — with some impressive results.

It all started in August last year in the capital city of Asunción, when a congressman stayed in office after admittedly misusing public funds to pay his private employees.

Citizens were fed up with corruption and impunity, so they launched a protest, egged and ‘TP’-ed his house and eventually forced him to resign. But that wasn’t all: as a consequence of the protests, two more politicians stepped down, several anti-corruption investigations were opened and criminal charges filed.

In a country that scores very poorly in its region in our 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), such dedicated citizen action gives hope that change is possible after all. It reminds us that when people stand up against corruption and exercise their civil rights, it can make a difference.

This #WorldPressFreedomDay, we also want to give a shout-out to all the courageous journalists who report on corruption and other crimes every day.

Brazilian journalist Mauri König is an inspiring example. An award-winning investigative reporter, he has been covering cases of corruption and human rights abuses for many years, despite brutal attempts on his life.

Together with our partners at EcoCinema, we are proud to present his new documentary which uncovers how corruption enables crimes like smuggling and human trafficking at the triple frontier of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Filming has just wrapped and the movie will be coming out this autumn. Check out the trailer below.