It one thing is to bet there is corruption in a public work in Mexico and another thing to prove it. If I had to bet, I would bet ten to one that there is a lot of corruption in [the already underway construction of the New Mexico City International] Airport [NAIM] in Texcoco [immediately east of Mexico City]. But except for the observations made by the Superior Auditor of the Federation, I don't have specific knowledge of whether any contract is inflated or whether there was an issue in this or that bid. Mine is a strictly a statistical guess, since the possibility that corruption exists in a public work in Mexico is very high.
The difference between those who have a position of governmental responsibility or a public function (which journalism is) and ordinary mortals is that when one of us makes a statement of this type we are required not only to prove it, but to criminally report those who engaged in those practices.
The strangest thing about the bizarre process of the cancellation of the Texcoco airport [decision announced by president-elect Andrés Manual López Obrador, aka AMLO, based on the votes in his informal "consultation" last week with "el pueblo", i.e. the people viewed as a political entity] is that it is a case of corruption without corruption. López Obrador's whole argument has been that behind the construction of NAIM there is a huge corruption, but he has never said who the businessmen and corrupt officials are, nor what actions he will take against them when he assumes power [on Dec. 1]. Moreover, he is already negotiating the changing of contracts with those who are the allegedly corrupt ones, which, by the most basic logic, would only cause the corruption to be perpetuated. But not in his view, because he believes in repentance, forgiveness and forgetfulness.
The corruption that Andrés Manuel talks about is an ethereal thing. It has no faces, no names. It is an evil that is here and it isn't necessary to be demonstrate it. But the serious thing is that it is he and only he who is in charge of who is guilty and who is innocent. Rosario Robles [in the Peña Nieto administration, the current Secretary of Land Development and former Secretary of Social Development (social welfare)] can be accused of deviation of public funds based on the evidence of the Superior Auditor [that millions of dollars from each secretariat went to "ghost" [fake] businesses during her administrations], but if the president-elect says she is just "a scapegoat" and is pardoned, he does not need to explain [his judgment] or say who the real corrupt people are in that plot involving ghost companies. If other likely corrupt corporations bend to his wishes, they will pass from the ranks of the corrupt to those of the architects of the fourth transformation, and no investigation is necessary regarding possible over charges or contract kickbacks.
MV Note: López Obrador refers to his election as the Fourth Transformation of Mexico, following the War for Independence from Spain (1810-1821), the Reform Period led by President Benito Juárez (1857-72, interrupted by two civil wars) and the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917).López Obrador's battle is not one against illegality, but a war of good against evil. The laws and earthly justice, that tortuous and complex process that is carried out in the courts do not have a place in the thought or speech of the president-elect. He fights corruption as evil is fought, as a moral category. The problem with that is that corruption is not a sin, it is a crime and Andrés Manuel is not the leader of a church (although at times he behaves as such), but is soon to be the president of the nation. Spanish original
*Diego Petersen Farah holds a degree in Communication Sciences. An information analyst, he has worked as an editor, assistant director and director in different print media in Mexico. He is the author of the novel Los que habitan el abismo, Those Who Inhabit the Abyss. He is a regular columnist for sinembargo.mx @DiegoPetersen