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 | JOURNALISTS FROM BRAZIL AND COSTA RICA AWARDED LEADING LATIN AMERICAN PRIZE FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
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Articles reveal cases of public corruption and the management of illicit accounts by the Catholic Church.
Above, members of the jury: Gustavo Gorriti, Gerardo Reyes and Mike Reid, with the Prize winners: Ernesto Rivera and Giannina Segnini, of Costa Rica’s newspaper La Nación; and Daniela Arbex, Táscia Souza and Ricardo Miranda, of Brazilian newspaper Tribunas do Minas.
Two series of reports that expose public corruption in Brazil and the management of illegal accounts within the Catholic Church in Costa Rica have been awarded the Prize to the Best Journalistic Investigation of a Case of Corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008 edition, organized every year by Transparency International (TI) and Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS).
The 25,000 dollars prize was awarded to Daniela Arbex, Táscia Souza and Ricardo Miranda of Brazilian newspaper Tribunas do Minas; and to Ernesto Rivera and Giannina Segnini of Costa Rica’s newspaper La Nación, who shared the first prize after competing against 189 entries from 19 countries.
Through their investigation Arbex, Souza and Miranda revealed the corruption scheme that favored with public contracts a construction company, property of a powerful municipal official in the State of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil (Download report).
Rivera and Segnini’s series of reports exposed the Catholic Church’s illegal financial operations in Costa Rica (Download report).
Both investigations were decisive in getting those implied to resign their positions and in the opening of legal proceedings against them.
IPYS executive director, Ricardo Uceda, emphasized that this is the first time the prize has been awarded to journalists who work for a provincial newspaper, as is the case with Tribunas do Minas in Brazil.
“This goes to show that investigative excellence does not necessarily go hand in hand with large financial resources”, he commented.
“These investigations open doors, putting an end to the culture of secrecy and favoring an atmosphere of responsibility that not only helps to prevent corruption but also promotes the demand for transparency among the public”, declared Alejandro Salas, Regional Director for Transparency International in the Americas.
The jury awarded a second place prize of 5,000 dollars to Santiago Fascetto, of Panamá’s newspaper La Prensa, for revealing irregular payments to that country’s former president, Martín Torrijos, as the result of a secret contract with the government of the Dominican Republic (Download report).
A third prize, also of 5,000 dollars, was awarded to Jorge Antonio Ávalos of El Salvador’s newspaper Diario de Hoy, for the series of reports called “Serie Polémica Récord” about false accusations of causing environmental damage against a battery recycling factory (Download report).
The reports presented during the last seven years have dealt mainly with investigations about corruption in the public sector (53,8 percent), while organized crime and finances related issues have represented only 8 and 2,6 percent respectively.
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and México are the countries with the highest number of entries in the history of the prize.
Another ten reports from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, México, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Perú and Venezuela received special mentions:
Argentina
“El Caso Antonini” (The Antonini Case), about the plot to cover-up the scandal caused by the seizure in Argentina of 800 thousand dollars arriving from Venezuela, by journalist Hugo Alconada (La Nación). “Corrupción de Exequiel Espinosa” (Exequiel Espinosa’s Corruption), about the state-run company president who attempted to benefit a private company for which he also worked, by journalist Leonardo Nicosia (Perfil).
Brazil
“Dossie milicia”, about the paramilitary groups that dominate public services in 78 of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas (shanty towns), by journalists Joao Antonio Barros and Thiago Prado (Jornal O Dia). “Millonario desvío de fondos públicos en los servicios de salud” (Massive diversion of public funds destined for health services), by journalists Thiago Herdy, Alana Rizzo, María Clara Prates and team (Estado de Minas).
Chile
“Irregularidades en la licitación de Registro Civil” (Irregularities in Civil Registry tender), which involved a foreign private company, by the Center for Journalistic Investigation and Information – CIPER team constituted by Francisca Skoknic, Mónica Gonzales and Cristobal Peña.
México
“Un virreinato llamado Tlaxcala” (A viceroyalty called Tlaxcala), about nepotism in that state’s government, by journalist Fátima Monterrosa (Emeequis).
Nicaragua
“Caso Tecnosa” (Tecnosa Case), about state corruption with funds destined for social housing, by journalists José Adán Silva, Luis Galeano and Mauricio Miranda (El Nuevo Diario).
Paraguay
“Financiamiento de campañas políticas con fondos públicos” (Financing political campaigns with public funds), which originated at Itaipú Bi-national Hydroelectric Power Station, by Luis Antonio Bareiro (Última Hora).
Perú
“Banco de Materiales” (Materials Bank), about public officials benefitting from a popular housing program, by journalist Carola Miranda of the TV program Cuarto Poder.
Venezuela
“Casas para daminificados que se entregan a funcionarios públicos” (Housing for victims goes to public officials), about how members of Hugo Chávez’s retinue benefitted from a social housing program, by journalist Joseph Poliszuk (El Universal).
The winners in previous years were Jorge Loáisiga, of Nicaragua’s La Prensa (2002); Arturo Torres, Dimitri Barreto Jean Paúl Cano and Christian Torres of Ecuador’s El Comercio (2003); Giannina Segnini, Ernesto Rivera and Mauricio Herrera, of Costa Rica’s La Nación (2004); Tamoa Calzadilla, of newspaper Últimas Noticias y Laura Weffer of El Nacional (2005); Lucio Vaz and a team of journalists of Brazil’s newspaper Correio Braziliense, and a team of journalists of Colombia’s magazine Semana (2006); and Mabel Rehnfeldt, of Paraguay’s newspaper ABC Color, and Américo Zambrano, of Perú’s magazine Caretas, (2007)
See previous winners
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reservados - Instituto Prensa y Sociedad - 2003
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