LA MORDIDA", translation "the bite" is the term used for a bribe in this country. It is the traditional and customary way of getting things done. The bureaucrat who does your bidding takes a bite out of the cost of completing your objective. Mexican reformers are trying to change this condition with little success. It is so institutionalized that it could take decades before the situation changes appreciably. Bribing a cop, a judge or a permit agent is not the exclusive domain of Mexico. News stories about bribery scandals in the United States are not uncommon but in Mexico it is a way of life instead of an aberration in the system.
An aberration or a way of collecting taxes?
As I understand it Mexicans avoid paying their taxes. Taxes pay salaries of government employees. Las Mordidas pay government employees. Ergo, Las Mordidas are a form of taxes. Hey, makes sense to me.
This way the rich pay more and get more. No arrests, no convictions, no waiting in line at the DMV. . . . What a deal!
Sometimes I wonder if it's all that much of an aberration here..................
The current power structure in Mexico will not permit things to change. The corruption is how the Elite stay in power. It is precisely their ability to get around the official system, and make things happen and do favors for friends, that makes the Elite the Elite