As regular readers will remember, COTTonLINE takes a dim view of the so-called Bolivarian socialism popular among several nations in the hemisphere. These are the nations whose institutions were judged to be most deficient, and deteriorating further.
The report, authored by academic MartÃn Krause, takes an average of eight indicators used by recognized international organizations. Among them are the Index of Economic Freedom (Compiled by the Fraser Institute and the Heritage Foundation), Doing Business, the Rule of Law (the World Bank), and Corruption Perceptions (Transparency International).As we believe at COTTonLINE, experience demonstrates socialism does not involve sharing the wealth, it results in sharing the poverty. Note this ranking is compiled by an academic from Argentina, not a disdainful gringo.
In Latin America, Peru has risen by 20 places in the index since 1996, and Colombia by 15. Brazil has also climbed five spots, despite the corruption scandal involving state oil firm Petrobras which has broken out within the last year.
Taking the same long-term view, the index shows how other regional countries have slid dramatically in the quality of their public institutions. Bolivia is down 99 places, Argentina by 33, Ecuador by 81, Venezuela by 75, and Paraguay fell by 61 positions, all since 1996.
The study also shows that things have gotten dramatically worse for many countries since 2006, with Argentina, Bolivia, Belize, Suriname, Venezuela, Ecuador, and El Salvador registering significant falls from that point onwards.
