Doing the right thing doesn't always get immediate rewards, in fact it may cause you grief, at least in the short term, and makes you some enemies. But you shouldn't be doing it for personal gain.
I was watching a video about El Salvador's current populist president. He ran against the two big party candidates and won. He turned the country from a place where gangs extort people just for walking outside, everyone was afraid to go out after 7 PM and there was a high murder rate, to a much safer nation. He's done some questionable things (and borrowed a lot of money for programs) and has pissed off the leftist world. (Which probably why I never heard about him until now). But when things get that bad, tough decisions have to be made. You can't expect the corrupt establishment "swamp" to turn things around.