[Rissask]

MEXICO CITY - Mexicans spent a whopping $2.58 billion in bribes in 2007, some 42 percent more than they doled out just two years ago, according to a poll released Wednesday.


The survey, conducted by the nonprofit group Transparency Mexico, showed that 197 million bribes were paid nationwide in 2007 - compared to 115 million in 2005.


That's almost two for every living Mexican, given the country's population of about 105 million. Bribes ate up about 8 percent of family incomes here in 2007, the study said.


Corruption is so rooted and pervasive in Mexican culture that many people see nothing wrong with it. A continuum runs from tipping a waiter to bribing a politician, with no clear line separating what's acceptable and what's not.

For Rodolfo Guzman, bribes are the price of doing business.

The Mexico City bus driver hands out about 500 pesos ($48) per year to cops so they turn a blind eye when he drops off and picks up passengers at places along the road that are not official bus stops. The bribes run between 20 and 50 pesos ($3.20 to $4.75) every time police catch him.

"The truth is, it is just easier that way," Guzman said, noting that paying a traffic fine would be more costly and time consuming.

But the study also reveals Mexicans must pay bribes even when they're not breaking the law.

Bribes move about 10 percent of all government transactions - including those to obtain construction licenses, vehicle inspection stickers and street-vending permits.

Among the top 10 most frequent bribes people reported paying were to city tanker trucks that deliver drinking water to homes in poorer neighborhoods. Others paid to get their trash collected, their goods passed through customs and their cars out of police lots after they were towed.

WOW....yeah, that's a lot of money....this is something that really needs to be fixed from within.

I tried to give that cop who stopped me last week a little mordida....he wouldn't go for it.
No dice. Lucky Mexicans.