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MEXICO The Corruption Loop Even among the epic scandals of graft and corruption that plague Mexico’s political life, the case of the former police chief of Mexico City, Arturo Durazo, is legendary. Durazo held office until the end of the term of Mexico’s last president, José López Portillo, and is now charged with smuggling, illegal possession of arms, and half a million dollars’ worth of tax evasion. But as he has left the country he may never be brought to trial. The scandal typifies the way the country is governed by the immovable and irreplaceable single party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which appoints one president after another for a six-year term with only a façade of democratic process. And once a president’s term is over, his behavior in office is, by common consent, never discussed. Durazo’s case has been spiced by the publication of a book by his former chief of staff, himself the confessed perpetrator of several murders, who alleges that his erstwhile boss made a fortune through fraud, extortion, and drugs. During Durazo’s time in office, it is no surprise to learn that the police became Mexico’s most hated institution. Durazo made the equivalent of $1,000 a month, but he was able to maintain two luxurious houses, one of which on the Pacific Coast was a version of the Parthenon. The other, at Ajusco outside the capital, included a stable of 13 race horses, garages housing 1900-vintage cars, cellars full of rare wines, and an entertainment complex that was the replica of Studio 54 in New York. His staff at these places comprised 1,200 servants, all paid out of the public treasury. Durazo is also alleged to have taken regular kickbacks of 59 pesos from 25,000 police paychecks for the purpose of providing suitable funerals for officers killed in the line of duty. The Durazo scandal erupted as present President Miguel de la Madrid is trying to purge the police of their endemic corruption. A Catch-22 element is the fact that a rise in the crime rate is attributed to the activities of ex-policemen who have been fired from the force for corruption.

PARIS Battle of the Pyramid A major row has erupted here over plans to build a huge glass pyramid in the principal courtyard of the Louvre in order to create a new entrance to the museum and to an underground level of shops and offices. The plan, drawn up by American architect I. M. Pei, also calls for three smaller pyramids to house escalators leading underground. The concept would dramatically alter the main view of the Louvre from the Tuileries, and it is no wonder tradition-minded Parisians are objecting. The idea was to combine a modern “statement” with the centuries-old architecture of this ancient royal palace, and the design has been approved as of now by the museum’s authorities. The pyramid was originally intended to rise one hundred feet, which would have brought its apex close to the level of the eaves of the classical and Renaissance façades that would have enclosed it. The pyramid’s height has been lowered, but even so it will still go up almost sixty feet and rest on a base with each side measuring ninety feet. It will certainly dominate the approach to the original wings of the palace, and may displace a statue of Lafayette erected in the Louvre courtyard as a gift from the American people and subsidized by collections of pennies from schoolchildren in the United States.

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MEXICO The Corruption Loop Even among the epic scandals of graft and corruption that plague Mexico’s political life, the case of the former police chief of Mexico City, Arturo Durazo, is legendary. Durazo held office until the end of the term of Mexico’s last president, José López Portillo, and is now charged with smuggling, illegal possession of arms, and half a million dollars’ worth of tax evasion. But as he has left the country he may never be brought to trial. The scandal typifies the way the country is governed by the immovable and irreplaceable single party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which appoints one president after another for a six-year term with only a façade of democratic process. And once a president’s term is over, his behavior in office is, by common consent, never discussed. Durazo’s case has been spiced by the publication of a book by his former chief of staff, himself the confessed perpetrator of several murders, who alleges that his erstwhile boss made a fortune through fraud, extortion, and drugs. During Durazo’s time in office, it is no surprise to learn that the police became Mexico’s most hated institution. Durazo made the equivalent of $1,000 a month, but he was able to maintain two luxurious houses, one of which on the Pacific Coast was a version of the Parthenon. The other, at Ajusco outside the capital, included a stable of 13 race horses, garages housing 1900-vintage cars, cellars full of rare wines, and an entertainment complex that was the replica of Studio 54 in New York. His staff at these places comprised 1,200 servants, all paid out of the public treasury. Durazo is also alleged to have taken regular kickbacks of 59 pesos from 25,000 police paychecks for the purpose of providing suitable funerals for officers killed in the line of duty. The Durazo scandal erupted as present President Miguel de la Madrid is trying to purge the police of their endemic corruption. A Catch-22 element is the fact that a rise in the crime rate is attributed to the activities of ex-policemen who have been fired from the force for corruption.

PARIS Battle of the Pyramid A major row has erupted here over plans to build a huge glass pyramid in the principal courtyard of the Louvre in order to create a new entrance to the museum and to an underground level of shops and offices. The plan, drawn up by American architect I. M. Pei, also calls for three smaller pyramids to house escalators leading underground. The concept would dramatically alter the main view of the Louvre from the Tuileries, and it is no wonder tradition-minded Parisians are objecting. The idea was to combine a modern “statement” with the centuries-old architecture of this ancient royal palace, and the design has been approved as of now by the museum’s authorities. The pyramid was originally intended to rise one hundred feet, which would have brought its apex close to the level of the eaves of the classical and Renaissance façades that would have enclosed it. The pyramid’s height has been lowered, but even so it will still go up almost sixty feet and rest on a base with each side measuring ninety feet. It will certainly dominate the approach to the original wings of the palace, and may displace a statue of Lafayette erected in the Louvre courtyard as a gift from the American people and subsidized by collections of pennies from schoolchildren in the United States.