Carlos Fuentes - The Eagle's Throne

That’s why Lorenzo Terán sparked so much enthusiasm in 2017, when his strength and personality — so evident, so strong — carried him to the presidency on a wave of triumph and hope. He won 75 percent of the votes, the remaining 25 percent divided among the small parties that had long since been unable to inspire the voters.

Tomás Moctezuma Moro. A forgotten moment. Another political ghost. A presence yesterday, a specter today.

“An honest man,” the Old Man said. “I can vouch for that. He thought of himself as the Hercules who was going to clean the stables of Mexican politics. And I warned him, ‘It’s dangerous to be really honest in this country. Honesty may be admirable but it ends up becoming a vice. You have to be flexible about corruption. I know you’re honest, Tomás, but close your eyes — like divine justice — to the corruption around you. Remember, first, that corruption lubricates the system. Most politicians, government employees, contractors, et al. won’t have another opportunity to get rich once the six-year presidential term is over. They’ll go back to oblivion. But they want to be forgotten, so that nobody accuses them of anything, and rich, so that nobody bothers them. Then another gang of villains will turn up, but denying them the chance to pocket anything would be a mistake.

“ ‘What you need,’ I told Tomás, ‘is to surround yourself with opportunists because you can control the corrupt. It’s the pure man who’s the problem, he’s the one who just gets in your way. In Mexico there should be only one honest man, the president, surrounded by a lot of tolerated and tolerable yes-men who in six years’ time will disappear from the political map.

“ ‘The bad thing about you,’ I said to Tomás Moctezuma Moro, ‘is that you want the map and the land to match. Look, live at peace in the center of the map and let the corruption brokers cultivate the land.’ ”

The Old Man sighed and I could almost feel a tremor in the hand that was still pressing down on mine with incredible strength.

“He didn’t listen to me, Valdivia. He proclaimed his redemptive intentions right, left, and center. That way, he believed, he’d gain the greatest popular support. And he was acting out of conviction, without a doubt. He was going to put an end to corruption. He said it was the lowest form of stealing from the poor. That’s what he said. The thieves were going to go to jail. The poor would have protection against abuse.

“ ‘Slow down, Tomás,’ I told him. ‘They’re going to crucify you if you go around playing the redeemer. Don’t announce what you intend to do. Do those things when you’re sitting on the Throne, just like Cárdenas did. Don’t destroy the system. You’re part of it. Good or bad, it’s the only one we’ve got. What are you going to replace it with? You can’t just invent something overnight. Be satisfied with making an example of a few scapegoats at the beginning of your term. Make a moral statement early on and then you can rest.’ But he didn’t listen to me. He was a messiah. He believed in what he was saying.”

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.

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.