USAID Success Story - Corruption Sentence Sparks Culture Shift among Public Servants in Sonora, Mexico

The misuse of government resources in Mexico is rampant and all too often goes unpunished. Historically, most corruption cases filed before the Court for Administrative Justice (Tribunal de Justicia Administrativa) failed to conclude with a sanction. During the 100DC in Sonora in 2020, a particular case of misuse of resources by a public servant came to attention. The team put a new legal strategy into action to address these offenses. The public servant was found guilty of misusing government resources (a vehicle) and was suspended for 15 days. At first, this may seem like a mere slap on the wrist, but it had a much more significant impact. It was the first time that Sonora's SEA sentenced and applied punishment for a serious administrative offense. This was a complete paradigm shift in the state. Behavior changed - after this sentence was issued, all of the vehicles were parked where they were supposed to be at the time they were supposed to be there.