Nothing Left to Steal

One of Miguel de la Madrid’s principal promises when he began his six-year term as president of Mexico late in 1982 was to put an end to the inflation that had ravaged the country for nearly 11 years. But his time is running out, and inflation is worse than ever, with no end in sight. The cost of living soared 105.7 per cent in 1986, and seems likely to rise between 115 and 135 per cent this year. Unless de la Madrid can bring inflation under control in the last 18 months of his term, the question of whether there can be a peaceful transfer of political power away from the party that has ruled Mexico for the last sixty years may be put to the test in 1988.

De la Madrid’s two other main promises were to stamp out corruption in government, and to bring about an improvement in public safety. While mordidas—bribes—still are often necessary “to arrange matters” with police and bureaucrats, there have been none of the billion-dollar frauds against the government that distinguished the preceding administration. And since ruling Mexican politicians are all in the same party—the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI)—they do not follow the recent American practice of making mountains out of molehills. In fact they do exactly the reverse. Most of the real crooks of the López Portillo regime remain in untroubled possession of real loot.

GL

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George Byram Lake

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One of Miguel de la Madrid’s principal promises when he began his six-year term as president of Mexico late in 1982 was to put an end to the inflation that had ravaged the country for nearly 11 years. But his time is running out, and inflation is worse than ever, with no end in sight. The cost of living soared 105.7 per cent in 1986, and seems likely to rise between 115 and 135 per cent this year. Unless de la Madrid can bring inflation under control in the last 18 months of his term, the question of whether there can be a peaceful transfer of political power away from the party that has ruled Mexico for the last sixty years may be put to the test in 1988.

De la Madrid’s two other main promises were to stamp out corruption in government, and to bring about an improvement in public safety. While mordidas—bribes—still are often necessary “to arrange matters” with police and bureaucrats, there have been none of the billion-dollar frauds against the government that distinguished the preceding administration. And since ruling Mexican politicians are all in the same party—the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI)—they do not follow the recent American practice of making mountains out of molehills. In fact they do exactly the reverse. Most of the real crooks of the López Portillo regime remain in untroubled possession of real loot.