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The Root of Corruption
By Richard N. Baldwin T. /HispanicVista.com
   May 17, 2007
  From Mexico
   

 

The Roots of Corruption
 By Richard Baldwin
 

     Corruption comes in many varieties; moral, legal, fiscal and combinations.


     As an example of moral corruption is the case of the "DC Madam's" phone numbers in the US. An assistant secretary of state was found on the client list. Most interesting is that his prime responsibility was overseeing US funds distributed to other countries for combating AIDS. No US funds were to be used outside of the faith based philosophy of the administration. Basically, funds spent for abstinence programs are promoted. He was known to have trimmed a lot of money meant for AIDS programs since funding would  violated this dictum. So, here he is on the client's list of the DC Madam spending personal money for very "non-approved" activities. Needless to say, he "resigned" quickly. But this is also an example of legal corruption. Here we have a crime that requires two participants, the consumer and the provider. But most always, only the female (the provider) is ever prosecuted.

     But the focus today is México, and we are talking about systematic legal and fiscal corruption. Recently we looked at the corrupt income tax system in México. As I pointed out, the system is designed to make honest participation difficult if not impossible. And, of course, it is this corrupt system that has founded the immense "informal" non-taxpaying sector in México. All of these businesses exist on the basis of paying off a variety of officials to remain in business.

     It is also of note that some of the most violent riots of recent times started out with the government trying to shut down these illegal businesses. A famous market in México specializing in pirated CDs and computer programs; clearing illegal street stalls away from the main city square (the Zócalo); and of course the infamous San Salvador Atenco police riot. And why shouldn't these people resist eviction and shut down? The government has encouraged, if not forced the common people into these businesses, and historically permitted these activities. Then all of a sudden they shut them down.

     Suffice to say you can't exist in México without doing business with the illegal economy. Repair your auto? Call a plumber? Do some construction work? And on and on it goes from day to day.

     Looking at another sector:  Organized labor. In most industrialized countries, unions are mainly funded from the dues of their members. However, in México, the main income is from the companies that their workers are employed in. Ask yourself how you would trust your lawyer if he was on the payroll of the client that you were suing? But in México, with the wage scale being controlled so low, the union members cannot afford the level of dues necessary to support a union. The standard method on negotiating a labor contract is for the company to secretly meet with the union and make a deal. The better the deal, the higher the "fee." The rest is only show time for the workers. This can even go so far as to simply buy out the contract with the union pocketing the money and the workers left with no representation.

     I was part of a Mexican company one time that considered paying the workers more for increased productivity. Know what killed the idea? The union didn't want to "rock the boat". In particular, they feared that workers in other companies represented by their union would demand equal wages. For that company it would be simply an investment in the workers that would reap better profits. Not so for the union.

     And then we have the government worker unions. As bad as it is for workers in private companies, it is pure paradise for the government workers. Recently it came out that the workers in the national health system are able to retire at age 50. And the pension is over 100% of the top wage that they were working for!

     After the federal government forced some modest reforms recently on this system there have been a series of demonstrations from the affected workers. Well, I guess that if I had that kind of deal and was forced to accept reality, I would probably demonstrate too.

     If you are a policeman, making a few hundred dollars a month and expected to not only support your family, but pay for your uniform and gun, you might consider taking a "fee" to settle a traffic violation. In fact a few years ago at the police academy, they had an actual class on how to solicit bribes.

     I have a friend who was given a ticket for running a stop sign. The problem was that the cop had turned the stop sign around so that it could not be seen. The cop offered to settle the ticket for a fee. My friend objected and chose to go to court to fight the case. He ended up spending over 10 hours at traffic court standing in line with no resolution. He paid the bribe and walked out.

     Our president, Felipe Calderón, recently stated that he was going to fight corruption . . . as every president in the past has done in México.

     Good luck, Mr. President, but we have to accept that this will take a very long time. The roots are too deep.
 _____________________________________
Richard N. Baldwin T., a HispanicVista.com (http://www.hispanicvista.com/) contributing columnist, lives in Tlalnepantla, Edo de México. E-mail at: R1041643422@aol.com