A gift that is given with the intention of obtaining a favor from an authority is called a bribe.
The notion of bribe , in Latin American countries , is used as a synonym for bribery : the gift given with the aim of obtaining a favor from an official or authority. A bribe, therefore, is a sum of money or some object of value that is delivered illegally to access some type of benefit.
Bribery constitutes a crime known as bribery . In this type of case there are two parties who are at fault: the person who gives the bribe to bribe and the person who accepts it to do or stop doing something that corresponds to his position.
Example of bribe
Suppose that a police officer tells a motorist to stop driving because he is driving without a seat belt. This offense must be fined : however, to avoid the penalty, the motorist offers the police officer a bribe. If the security force agent is corrupt, he will accept the money and let the motorist leave without fining him. On the other hand, if he is an honest man, he will reject the bribe and complete the procedure accordingly.
It is known that in some countries corruption is much more common than in others, and one of the situations in which it can be observed most frequently is the process of arresting a motorist by a police officer for an infraction. . As expressed in the previous paragraph, trying to bribe an officer in a case like this is very simple and is within the reach of almost everyone, so if this practice is accepted there are not many reasons not to carry it out; Unless we really care about road safety, of course .
Bribery constitutes a crime.
The importance of responsibility and ethics
The mere possibility of getting away “unscathed” through a bribe is very tempting, especially if the amount of the fine is considerable for our pocket. And no one can be considered a monster for taking a few seconds to contemplate the idea of giving a police officer a bribe to get him to ignore his duties; We are human beings, made of flesh and blood, weak in the face of temptation.
But responsibility must always prevail, since driving a motor vehicle implies a very great potential risk, both for us and for the rest of the citizens, and paying for our faults is necessary to learn to respect the laws more.
The Minister of Education of a country, on the other hand, may ask the owner of a publishing house for a bribe in exchange for awarding his company a contract to supply books to the State . For the businessman, paying the bribe would imply the possibility of accessing a business that, otherwise, he would not be able to complete. In any case, ethical principles indicate that the owner of the publishing house should reject the proposal and report the official to justice .
Other uses of the term bribe
Outside the American continent, the meanings that this term acquires are certainly different and interesting. The first meaning is "a woman who lives with her partner outside of marriage"; Although this is also considered a moral failure from a religious point of view, it is not for atheist or agnostic people, and therefore it is not a negative issue in any context.
On the other hand, the “salary paid to the garitero to prepare the gaming tables” for use by clients is also called a bribe. The garitero, for his part, can be someone who has a gambling den (a clandestine gambling house), a player who frequents this type of place or someone who covers up criminals.