Jorge Castañeda’s recent book Mañana Forever? devotes the bulk of a chapter to the issue of trust – specifically, to Mexicans’ lack of said virtue, usually when Americans are involved, but more broadly towards each other. They are simply (if I can generalize wildly and irresponsibly here) not a trusting people – with the possible exception of Moctezuma, and look where that got him.

... Okay, as pickup lines go, that’s unimpressive, but if you’re a clerk at the Instituto Nacional de Migration, that should be good enough to let me have my way with you – and by “have my way,” I mean, “renew my FM3 visa.” Instead, the INM throws up as many obstacles as they can think of, despite there being not the slightest chance that they will, in the end, actually deny me one.