Cinco momentos de la corrupción en México. Breves apuntes históricos a partir de la época colonial

Abstract

This article throws light on various shifts in the meaning of corruption. I argue that colonial Mexicans originally understood corruption by and large as an obstacle to finding justice. During the middle of the eighteenth century, however, the idea of corruption began to expand beyond the judiciary and included breaches in the administration for self-benefit. After independence, a third concept emerged, as the idea began including manipulations of the electoral process. In addition, a century later, politicians argued that corruption had become so widespread in Mexican life, that it approached a cultural phenomenon. In part this was owed to plentiful drug money that had greased the wheels of the public bureaucracy and society as a whole for decades. Finally, since the beginning of the twenty-first century, we can observe another change. The idea of corruption began including fraud among banks and other businesses that illicitly enriched themselves. The concept of corruption has changed and expanded over time, and for this reason there are also more offenses today than in the past. We should consider these historical transformations when we judge the situation today. Moreover, there are indications, although admittedly somewhat hypothetical, that the concept of corruption connoted the violation of the foundational values of a society. Corruption clashed with colonial justice, the democratic underpinnings of the independent nation, and the promise of a more equal society in today’s Mexico.

Keywords

• corruption
• justice
• administration
• independence
• private initiative