Carlos Fuentes on Government Ethics
The great Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes' 2006 novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eagles-Throne-Novel-Carlos-Fuentes/dp/0812972554/…; target="”_blank”"><i>The Eagle's
Throne,</i></a> translated from the Spanish by Kristina Cordero, is one of
the best political novels I've ever read. I highly recommend it. The
novel also happens to contain some great quotes that touch on
government ethics. The government may be Mexico's, and national
rather than local, but that won't get in the way of enjoying these
wonderful quotations, which you'll find by clicking on the post title or book cover.<br>
<br>
"I know that my words stroke the moral ego of our head of state, who
just by listening to me feels 'ethical' and considers his duty to
principles done, which allows him to follow the advice of [his Chief
of Staff], the opposite of mine, with a clear conscience."<br>
<br>
"Both sides are honest only when they're the opposition. The minute
they take over the government, they soon learn the saying … 'He who
does not live off the public purse lives in error.'"<br>
<br>
Of the Housing Secretary: "Efrén Iturbide is the secretary of
state for the housing of Efrén Iturbide. ... He's built but one house: his own."<br>
<br>
"A multitude of local powers, Mr. President, acting with corrupt,
willful impunity. ... Certain areas of Mexican reality are so dark that only people with
dirty hands can effectively control them. At the same time, you've
gone to great pains to promote honest government officials who can
give your regime a pretty public face."<br>
<br>
"For one's friends, justice and grace. For one's enemies, the law."<br>
<br>
"Malicious or ingenuous, Machiavellian or utopian, the powerful man
always thinks he's right, and the person who opposes him is either a
traitor, or at least dispensable."<br>
<br>
"The good thing about realpolitik is that you can do an about-face
and still keep your basic principles intact."<br>
<br>
"[The President] is even willing to tolerate corruption as long as
it's safe — that is, predictable and reliable. … He's got that
theory of his about corruption as a lubricant."<br>
<br>
"There's no better training for politics than adultery. Little
secrets, little secrets."<br>
<br>
"Let's suppose that Mr. X is corrupt and he's caught in the act. Is
it wise to punish him for it? What should come first, justice or
convenience? A political system, whatever it is, must create its own
taboos to protect the privileged and, more importantly, to protect
society itself. … Sometimes the sins of the state must be either
tolerated or disguised, not so much in order to protect the state as
to protect society from its own diabolical powers."<br>
<br>
"When you do things openly you don't arouse suspicion. It's secrecy
that wakes up the wolves."<br>
<br>
"In order to preserve customs, we must break laws."<br>
<br>
"A lie is true because it has meaning. Things that have no meaning
cannot even be false.For that reason, the meaning of the truth is
only one part of what the truth conceals beneath its surface. Lies
are one half truth. Truth is one half lies."<br>
<br>
"In Mexico natural disasters get turned into public profits."<br>
<br>
"You firmly believe that the perfect society is one with no
government, no laws, no punishment. What will it have, then? I ask
you. Managers, obligations, and corrections, you respond cleverly."<br>
<br>
A former president's advice: "What you need 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. …
Live at peace in the center of the map and let the corruption
brokers cultivate the land. … 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."<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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