Busted!

About five or so years ago, the Mexican federal government formed AFI, the Agencia Federal de Investigaciones, similar to the FBI in the US. AFI was supposed to be a different kind of federal agency, recruiting only college-educated individuals, providing extensive training, and offering excellent compensation – creating law enforcement agents that would be above the common corruption that pervades Mexican society.

Well, not far from our house is a large market where vendors sell all kinds of goods from little stalls: clothing, shoes, jewelry, CDs, and DVDs. All of the CDs and DVDs are copied illegally, of course, and folks have been selling them at the market for years. They will kindly play anything you wish, including video game CDs, to show that their products actually work.


One day, twelve AFI vans and pick-ups rolled up to the market and started carrying out huge garbage bags stuffed with confiscated CDs and DVDs, as well as some televisions, stereos, and video game consoles. The raid lasted about 30 minutes in all, and every AFI vehicle was busting at the seams with pirated goods.

The whole scene reminded me of the movie Casablanca, “I’m shocked to hear there is gambling in this establishment!” If it was known to everyone that illegal merchandise was being sold, not only at this market, but also at every single market in the entire country, then why was this particular market raided all of the sudden? And what exactly did the AFI agents do with the confiscated goods? I certainly have my theories…

The first is that the US government or some other political entity is putting pressure on AFI to crack down on illegally produced copyrighted material being sold literally on every street corner. This may explain the unexpected seizure of goods, which should be stored as evidence or destroyed. The other explanation is that the vendors at the market did something to make AFI agents a bit angry, or they didn’t agree to pay a bribe – a mordida (meaning “bite”). In this case, the confiscated goods will be reintroduced into the local economy, with the agents taking a commission for their efforts.

Of course, there could be other explanations...