A few weeks ago I wrote the column “Winners and the Cost to Society”, which describes how micro corruption works in Chile and in everyday life. And, paradoxically, the same day of its publication, it was my turn to witness the winner culture in all its splendor.
While in a fairly long line, a carabinieri appeared requesting temporary permits, causing several people to disappear quickly. So far, no surprises, some wanted to get too smart and couldn’t.
However, I was struck by a woman who, without carrying permission, tried to convince the carabinero to allow him to complete his procedure. Luckily for her, the uniform ordered her to return home, avoiding arrest or fines.
It was 15 minutes, I was still in line, when the woman returns by passing the phone to the carabinero, who receives it and chats kindly with her interlocutor on the other side of the line. Once he cut, he turned to the woman and allowed him to get back in line.
While the winners are everywhere, seeing this situation in front of my eyes stunned me, so I couldn’t help but ask the woman how they had let her stay if she didn’t have permission. He took time to respond, but eventually recounted that a police friend interceded. A daily example of influence traffic.
My face said it all, as did the face of all the people in line. Clearly, interceding before the authority to achieve a profit of its own is an act of corruption. How do we pretend that carabinieri are not corrupt, if at the slightest problem we try to corrupt it before a superior to whom we have access?
Even the problem goes further and a person who also lined up said: “This is social injustice, she calls and they solve the problem.” Can we doubt that phrase? I don’t think it’s actually the helplessness that Chileans feel, because for a few winners, all the trust in the system falls apart.
In the private world, such events are also frequent and it is essential that transparency is worked, as well as giving assurances to those who alert to irregular events within companies.
Recently, the study “Ethics and Corporate Crime in Chile”, of the Business Ethics Center (CE) of the ESE Business School of the University of the Andes, showed that 40% of companies do not yet have a code of ethics, while 45% of these do not provide training on ethics and fraud to their employees. It is essential that there is a real and tangible commitment to good action, that it is not only in words, but that it is transferred to all those belonging to the organization, that there be exemplifying measures to those who are passed on as ready and, at the same time, protection to those who dare to denounce.
Surely we have all had some winning attitude in our lives or have witnessed any of them. An important lesson is that if we shut up, we end up enpinning those behaviors that harm an entire system, increasing the sense of injustice by the way, to the point where we trust nothing or anyone else. On the contrary, if we start questioning the winners, they will at least hesitate before acting.
The woman in the line, carried out her paperwork before the inquisotor gaze of all of us present. He never looked up again, he knew that his acting had not been ethical. For my part, I approached the carabinero to ask him to please report the caller, because the damage he does to the country with this act is immense. I know that the fear of reprisals from superiors often prevents such allegations, but at least I hope that next time I think twice.
When the protagonist of our story left, I yelled “winner” at her, but she didn’t dare look back.
The content poured into this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
