Cancun, Q.R. — The state of Quintana Roo ranks first in Mexico for the highest rates of corruption per capita. According to a recent report by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Inegi), residents in Quintana Roo are the most likely in the country to experience corruption.
According to their report, last year, 14.7 percent of Mexicans were victims of some form of corruption with the average cost being 3,044 peso per affected person. They also pointed out that 86.3 percent of Mexicans consider corruption “frequent” in government institutions.
Residents of Quintana Roo, Puebla and Baja California are the three most affected states in Mexico, according to their report. In Quintana Roo, 20.4 percent of residents have experienced some form of corruption followed by Pueba with 19.6 percent and Baja California with 19.4 percent.
The area with the highest rate of corruption was public servants. Ingei reported that more than 9.4 billion peso in accepted bribes or requested payments to avoid fines were received by public servants last year across the country.
“In 2021, contact with public security authorities was the procedure with the highest percentage of corruption experiences, with 65 percent. It is followed by procedures before the Public Ministry with 24 percent,” the agency reported.
From this, their survey results found only one in three Mexican residents trust police.
Inegi pointed out that the police (public servants) are the second worst public institution evaluated, only above political parties, which have a trust level of 27.9 percent. In contrast, the Army and the Navy are the third best evaluated public institution with the trust of 71 percent.
Other areas with high rates of corruption include acts before the Public Ministry with 24 percent, permits related to property, 22.3 percent and procedures to open a company stood at 21.9 percent.
In terms of cost, Ingei says the Yucatan Peninsula leads with the highest corruption costs averaging 12,500 peso per person affected. They say that figure is followed by Oaxaca with 8,700 pesos per person, Michoacán with 5,100 pesos, Veracruz with 4,000, Guerrero and Hidalgo with 3,800 pesos, Zacatecas with 3,500, Tamaulipas with 3,000, the state of Sonora with 2,600, Chiapas with 2,400 pesos, both Campeche and Morelos with 1,100 and Colima with 1,000 pesos for each citizen affected by an act of corruption.
