El órgano de fiscalización superior del Estado de Veracruz como organismo garante de la prevención y combate a la corrupción en el ámbito subnacional

Corruption in Mexico is a problem with diverse manifestations and a broad, deep reach into the country's political and governmental structure. While it is important to explain this phenomenon in terms of its origins and implications, it is equally important to examine how the government apparatus addresses it, both nationally and subnationally. This paper offers a theoretical and documentary exploration of corruption, of the institutional and instrumental articulation of the mechanisms established to combat it in Mexico and Veracruz, and of the strategy of the Supreme Audit Institution of the State of Veracruz (ORFIS). It argues that the persistence of corruption stems more from the weakness, fragmentation, and lack of independence of the institutions responsible for controlling it than from cultural traits of society. It further argues that, in a local context in which the guarantee of transparency has been transferred to the Executive Branch, ORFIS has become one of the few autonomous technical counterweights available in the state; however, its capacity as a guarantor body is conditioned by the effectiveness of the authorities responsible for sanctioning audit findings.