Mordidas

A man came to the Casa today looking for a mordida. That translates as a little bite or in other words, a bribe. He said he was from the Mexico City Secretary of Treasury and he carried what looked like a valid credential. He took a look around and told us the property was not correctly registered with the city and that he would need to report this to his superiors and we would likely be fined up to $20,000 or $30,000 pesos in order to regularize the registry. Or, he said, he could echa la mano (lend a hand) and for just $3000 pesos mark the Casa as compliant with the registry.

We turned his generosity down and told him that paying him was not an option for us and we would rather regularize the status of the Casa if indeed it was not properly registered. This seemed to upset him and he left in a huff. We're not sure if what he said was accurate or if his visit was even legitimate. He did appear to have a proper credential, but he had no documents or information to give us and appeared to be scowering the neighborhood in search of payoffs.

Regardless, I still find such situations uncomfortable and offensive to my naive gringa sentiments, and a sad reminder of the state of government accountability in Mexico.