In Mexican society, those who arrive in power through elections suddenly become a separate set of human beings now being touted as “the political class.”
Those in power are seen as a bunch of corrupt cynics who are only there because their “turn to steal” finally arrived and their dedication is not to serve the people who voted for them, but to grab their booty, secure their future (and that of their grandchildren) and run.
Curiously enough those considered “the most corrupt” belong to the three leading political parties. In a regular democracy the answer would be an easy one for those who complain the most: just kick them out of power by not voting for them. But then, Mexico is no regular democracy and politics are always leaning to private interests and those “corrupt” political parties keep getting the bulk of the vote.
Another word used by Mexicans is “partidocracia” which does not translate into English but it has to do with intra-party cronyism. This means that instead of being the ideological contenders that they ran as during election time, when arriving in power they instead follow the unwritten law of “forgive and forget,” which erases past and punishable-by-law wrongdoings, and opens up the path for the new cadre to commit new ones.
In tandem with this new style of cynicism, legislators have opted for bringing up new laws that protect protesters who denounce their political sins such as taking kickbacks for approving federal budgets to states and municipalities, and enjoying a status which liberates them from any accusation tossed in their direction.
Current lawmakers are confronted with the task of approving the pending bills of the National Anti-corruption System and the General Law of Administrative Responsibilities, which would, in theory, punish the corrupt.
Definitely, Solons fighting against legislative decline don’t know how to go for it, because these two laws would set them up both as culprits and hangmen.
