A recent study of world corruption listed Mexico as only moderately corrupt.The two least corrupt Latin American nations were Chile and Uruguay.
I have lived in Mexico for over eight years and have never been asked for a bribe.
But I once offered one at the telephone office, and was politely turned down. Things are improving.
That was in my first year here. I would not do it now.
The phone was installed in a timely manner.
Getting things done in the legal system is often a question of whom you pay off quickest. There are no jury trials. Everything is decided by a judge who, in most cases, simply receives written arguments from competing sides.
And then he decides in private. There is no open court. This system begs for payoffs, of course, which is why it was designed that way in the first place. Thank those sneaky Spaniards.
Our new presidente, Felipe Calderón, hopes to reform this. He advocates a legal system that more resembles that of the United States. Wish him luck.
His reform list is long. With reason.
2 comments:
Abajo la agua. I was educated a couple of weeks ago when two of my Mazatlan neighbors looked at me like I was nuts. Under the table made absolutely no sense to them.
Larry
I was just commenting about Mexican expressions. When I used the the expression "under the table" to describe the actions of some locals, all I got was blank stares. After some explaining I was told the proper expression was "under the water." Nobody could tell me where it came from.
Larry
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