COX Newspapers Washington Bureau

Home > Uncovering Mexico > Archives > 2008 > March > 11 > Entry

My first bribe

By Jeremy Schwartz | Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 01:34 PM

It had to happen sooner or later. Perhaps the most shocking thing about it was that it came nearly two years into my assignment in Mexico.

Last week, while traveling through the scorching state of Guerrero, I paid my first bribe. My wife Nancy and I were in a small town just south of Acapulco to interview returning migrants from the U.S. when it happened. Hunting for an Internet cafe to send some emails, I drove our rental car through the chaotic downtown streets. The wrong way it turns out. Although there were no signs informing the visitor of the fact, the main street was one-way. The local police were apparently watching, but instead of pulling us over, they waited until we parked and entered the Internet cafe before springing into action. As I typed an email, two motorcycle cops unscrewed our front license plate to take with them.

A friendly street vendor alerted Nancy to the scheme and we rushed outside to see what was going on. The cops said we had violated the law and for that they were taking our license plate. We could get it the next day (a Saturday) although the office might be closed, in which case we would have to wait until Monday. We explained that we were visitors, that the street was unmarked and that taking our license plate did not seem the appropriate response to a minor traffic violation. Nancy managed to keep them from speeding off with our plates, but they eventually left when another motorcycle cop rode up. The new cop said he would get our plate back - all we would have to pay would be 60 pesos (about $6) to get rid of the ticket. I conceded, figuring it was the easiest way to avoid a weekend-long conflagration.

The cop did get our plates back amid much apologizing after the police learned we were also journalists. By this time a small crowd had gathered, chastising the police for shaking us down and backing up our claim that the street was unmarked.

In the end I paid the cop the 60 pesos with change from my pocket. In a way I didn’t feel that bad - I had in fact committed an infraction. But we would learn from residents later that taking license plates from out-of-staters was a regular activity for local police, looking for far juicier bribes than the one we paid.

Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment

Comments

Click here to report comment abuse.

By Maria

March 12, 2008 9:10 AM | Link to this

You totally lucked out! Only 60 pesos…wow! On one trip to the state of Guanajuato as a teenager (late 80’s), my father had to fork over $50 DOLLARS (the officer would not accept pesos) for the exact same thing.

By Peter

March 12, 2008 3:26 PM | Link to this

The reason people like this get away with this type activity is because of your laziness. Would you not have asked to speak with a superior here at home? Next time try this and you will enjoy Mexico more fully.

By Deborah Bonello

March 12, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this

Hey Jeremy - that seems like a pretty low amount to me. I live here with my man, who’s Mexican. He says he has paid as little as a piece of chewing gum to as much as a thousand pesos.

jeje

suerte

deborah

mexicoreporter.com

By Jeremy Schwartz

March 13, 2008 10:54 AM | Link to this

Maria, Deborah, you’re right it was a pretty cheap mordida - the cop claimed that he was giving me a break because it usually costs 150 pesos to get your plates back. The fact that all this sordid business was conducted right on the town’s main plaza with a growing crowd may have contributed to the lower amount, who knows…

Peter - we actually did try to take the whole show to the presidencia and see the mayor, but it was Friday afternoon and he had taken off for the weekend. True, I probably could have fought it more, but 60 pesos seemed a reasonable price to pay to get the plate back and get on with my life. But your underlying argument is on point - if more people fought these shakedowns, maybe they’d become less common.

By Bill

March 17, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this

Peter, They are not lazy paying the bribe and asking to speak with the cops “supervisor” as you say is not only naive but stupid. At the very least, the “supervisor” would charge double the $60 pesos. Yeah… what a way to experience Mexico. The police are corrupt there and the mordida is the way of life. It’s a fact and IS spoken about quite freely in “polite” company.

By Dwight

March 26, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this

ALL Mexican cops are thieves and worse. Mexican kids are taught from an early age never to go to the cops for anything. If you are female and need help, find a group of women or a couple for protection. When you park your car, always pay someone to watch it. I hope they remembered to give some money to the “friendly vendor”.

Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F

Post a comment



Remember me?




*HTML not allowed in comments. Your e-mail address is required.