I was stunned. He crossed himself.
“Who killed him, Valdivia? The list of potential murderers is as enormous as the cast of The Ten Commandments. Do you remember? Drug traffickers. Local bosses. Governors. Local presidents. Corrupt judges. Crooked policemen. Bankers fearful that Moro would take away the public subsidies that financed their private incompetence. Union leaders afraid that Moro would force them to be voted in and approved by their union members. Truck drivers overpricing their merchandise. Millers exploiting the corn-producing local farmers. Loggers turning forests into deserts. New landowners controlling land, seeds, and tractors while impoverished farmers continued to use the ox and the wooden plow.”
Did the Old Man sigh, or was it the parrot?
“The list is endless, I tell you. Then add the mystics, all those mad-men who want to save the country by killing presidents. And then the international conspiracy theories. The gringos scared that Mexico would get out of hand because they knew they weren’t going to have an easy time manipulating Moro. And as always the Cubans — both the ones in Miami afraid that Moro would help Castro, and the ones in Havana afraid that Moro, apostle of human rights that he was, would make problems for Castro. The list of problems went on and on. .”
Now he looked me in the eye.
“I’ve never met a politician who made as many enemies as quickly as Moro did. He was a thorn in everyone’s side. I told him that he had too many enemies, that he was an obstacle for everyone, that he was in danger. . ”
He didn’t let go of my hand. But his eyes weren’t his. They were the eyes of the night, of a bat, of prison.
“I ordered the murder of Tomás Moctezuma Moro.”
Need I tell you why you must destroy this tape? And why I had to communicate with you so urgently?
I love you,
N.
52. NICOLÁS VALDIVIA TO TÁCITO DE LA CANAL
Sir: I’ll be brief. This letter will be delivered to you by Jesús Ricardo Magón, whom I trust implicitly. I won’t waste time on matters you and I know about already. I simply want to warn you that the incriminating documents are in my possession, and well protected.
Someone as undeniably intelligent as you will understand why I’m not going to make them public. If they were to become public knowledge that would be the end of any higher political aspirations for you. Such a scandal would seriously impede your candidacy. President Téran was aware of this. Your rival the ex-secretary of the interior, Bernal Herrera, whose position I have the honor of filling, knows. María del Rosario Galván, whom you have treated in such an ungentlemanly way, also knows, but given her fine political mind, she understands that it’s better to lose you, Mr. De la Canal, and to see you retire from public life. In exchange, those of us who know about your objectionable dealings will maintain a discreet silence.
The papers will remain locked away for one simple reason. They incriminate too many people. Bankers, administrators, and businessmen who are more useful to the country stimulating growth than purging their sins in the Almoloya jail. After all, what did their indiscretions in the MEXEN deal really amount to? Streams in a mighty river of investments, tributaries of the river of essential capital and savings that the country needs to move forward.
There are two things you have to weigh here: On one hand, Mexico’s progress; on the other hand, your guilt. Which is heavier? You’re going to say you’re not the only guilty party. Are you spiteful enough to drag down your accomplices? As for me, I think we will all be better off if everyone keeps their composure and remains silent. Also, I think it would be a good idea for you to take a long vacation. A permanent vacation, I would even suggest. Acapulco is surely more tempting than Almoloya. And we won’t say anything to your mischievous little friends, neither you nor I. Why don’t we just leave them in peace? What I’ll do is promote stricter laws governing the management of publicly and privately held companies, in the interest of eliminating fraud and insider trading, ensuring access to corporate accounting data and severely punishing the PDGs (excuse the French, that means Présidents Directeurs Généraux) who sell shares at high prices weeks before they plummet, knowing that those who take advantage of inflated prices, like the despicable Bush Jr. and Cheney, get out in time, leaving the smaller investors to take the hit. Like that woman Penélope Casas, who worked in your office. Do you remember her?
I propose to establish a presumption of guilt jure et de jure for those corporate pirates, so that it will be up to them to prove their innocence in court. I repeat: I’m going to protect the small-time investor who was cheated for lack of information, confidential information that the company chiefs and their accountants possessed. But I’m going to look to the future, not the past. Punishing the past only shows an inability to manage in the present, or plan ahead. I won’t make that mistake. But your file still exists, de la Canal, and it contains the evidence of a crime that we might be forced to expose, not to condemn the past but for the sake of the future.
Consider yourself warned. I won’t initiate any action against you or any of your co-conspirators in fraud. However, if you start making waves, either to save your own skin (which would be very imprudent), to get buried along with your accomplices, or to have the masochistic satisfaction of taking others down with you as you kill yourself. . in that case, Mr. De la Canal, the full weight of the law will come crashing down on your bald head.
Consider yourself, then, under the sword of Damocles.
I remain your loyal and steadfast servant,
Nicolás Valdivia
UNDERSECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
53. TÁCITO DE LA CANAL TO ANDINO ALMAZÁN
Mr. Secretary, my esteemed friend, I turn to you from the bottom of the pit into which my political enemies have thrown me. That is the state of things. Some win, some lose. But in politics there are many twists and turns. Perhaps my present disgrace and the low profile I’m being forced to maintain are in fact the best possible mask for me to use as I prepare my surprise comeback.
They say all is fair in love and war. I’d say the same goes for politics and business. I know that the undersecretary of the interior, a former subordinate of mine, has sent you a series of documents that implicate me in the MEXEN case. He himself has told me that he’s not going to pursue me because I would drag too many other powerful people down with me. I claimed that I was only following the orders of the president, César León.
Nicolás Valdivia looked at me coldly.
“The president is untouchable. The secretary is not.”
“Principles are good servants of bad masters.”
“That’s true, Mr. De la Canal. Don’t worry, from now on your hands will be clean. Because you won’t have any hands. . ”
I do not surrender, Secretary Almazán. Not even if they were to cut off my hands, because I’d still have feet to kick with. I’ve spoken to the other people involved mentioned by Valdivia, to remind them that we’re in this together. That I only signed those papers under orders from President César León.
They laughed at me. Below I offer a literal transcription of the conversation I had with the banker most deeply involved in the complex MEXEN business scheme.