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Transcription

CMYK
Town
Nxxx,2012-12-18,A,001,Bs-BK,E3
How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs
Late Edition
To CLXII
Get Its
Way
in Mexico© 2012 The
VOL.
. . No.
55,989
New York Times
Today, windy with some rain this
morning, then clouds and sun. High
56. Tonight, partly cloudy, low 38.
Tomorrow, clouds and sun, high 49.
Weather map appears on Page B12.
VOL. CLXII . . No. 55,989
VOL. CLXII . . No.
© 2012
55,989
The New York Times
© 2012 BARSTOW
The New
NEW
York Times
YORK, TUESDAY,
NEW YORK,
DECEMB
TU
By DAVID
and ALEJANDRA XANIC von BERTRAB
VOL. CLXII . . No. 55,989
$2.50
NEW YORK, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012
SAN JUAN TEOTIHUA- thwarted by an unfavorable
CÁN, Mexico — Wal-Mart zoning decision. Instead,
longed to build in Elda Pine- records and interviews show,
da’s alfalfa field. It was an they decided to undo the damThe Bribery Aisle
ideal location, just off this age with one well-placed
How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs
town’s bustling main entrance $52,000 bribe.
To Get Its Way in Mexico
The plan was simple. The
and barely a mile from its anAttitudes Shift in
cient pyramids, which draw zoning map would not become
By DAVID BARSTOW
and ALEJANDRA XANIC von BERTRAB
in a
tourists from around the law until it was publishedCongress
After
SAN JUAN TEOTIHUA- thwarted by an unfavorable
government
newspaper.
So
world.
With
its
usual
preciCÁN, Mexico — Wal-Mart zoning decision. Instead,
Shootings
DAVIDde
BARSTOW
longed to build in Elda Pine- records and interviews show,
Wal-Mart
Mexico arranged
sion, Wal-Mart calculated it By
to undo
the dam- BARSTOW and ALEJANDRA XANIC von BERTRAB
da’s alfalfa field. It was an they decidedBy
DAVID
to
bribe
an
official
change
and ALEJANDRA XANIC
vontoBERTRAB
would attract 250 customers
ideal location, just off this age with one well-placed
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
town’s bustling main entrance $52,000 bribe.
the
map
before
it
was
sentandtoCHARLIE SAVAGE
if onlyBARSTOW
it could put a
Bywas
DAVID
BARSTOWan hour
By
DAVID
The plan
simple. The
and barely a mile from its anSAN
JUAN
TEOTIHUACÁN,
Mexico
da’s
field
was
redrawn
to
allow
Wal-Mart’s
SAN
JUAN
TEOTIHUAthwarted
by
an unfavorable
WASHINGTON
— Demoncient pyramids, which draw zoning map would not become
the newspaper, records
and
store in Mrs. XANIC
Pineda’svon
field.
XANIC
and
vonALEJANDRA
BERTRAB
BERTRAB
strating rapidly shifting attitudes
law until it was published
in a
tourists from aroundand
the ALEJANDRA
zoning
decision.
CÁN,
Mexico
—
Wal-Mart
longedSo to build One
in major
Elda obstacle
store.
interviews
show. toward
Sure
gun control in Instead,
the afterworld. With its usualal-Mart
preci- government newspaper.
stood
in
math of a massacre in a Connectision, Wal-Mart calculated it Wal-Mart de Mexico arranged
enough,
the map
records
and
interviews
longed
to build
in
Pine-when
SAN
SAN
JUAN
TEOTIHUAthwarted
by
unfavorable
byElda
an
unfavorable
cut was
school,
many pro-gun show,
ConWal-Mart’s
way. thwarted
toTEOTIHUAbribe an
official
to change
Pineda’s
alfalfa
field.
It was
an an
ideal
Problem
solved.
would
attract 250JUAN
customers
Democrats — includan hour if only it could put a the map before it was sent to
published,
the
zoning
forgressional
Mrs.
they
decided
to
undo
the
damda’s
alfalfa
field.
It
was
an
zoning
decision.
Instead,
zoning
decision.
Instead,
CÁN,
Mexico
—
Wal-Mart
CÁN,
Mexico
—
Wal-Mart
After
years
of
study,
the
ing
Senator
Harry
Reid
of
Nevathe
newspaper,
records
and
store
in Mrs. Pineda’s
field.
location, justshow.off Sure
this town’s bustling
Wal-MartPineda’s
de Mexico
broke ground
months
da, theto
majority leader and a
field
was redrawn
One major obstacle stood in interviews
age
with
one
well-placed
town’s
elected
leaders
had
ideal
location,
just
off
this
records
and
interviews
records
show,
and
interviews
show,
longed
to
build
in
Elda
longed
Pineto
build
in
Elda
Pinelongstanding
gun
rights
supportenough,
when
the
map
was
Wal-Mart’s
way.
main
entrance
and barely
a mile from just
its ancient
later,
provoking
fierce opposition.
Protesters
allow Wal-Mart’s
store.
er — signaled
an openness Monthe zoning for Mrs.
After years
of study,field.
the published,
approved
athey
new
zoning
$52,000
bribe.
town’s
bustling
maintoentrance
decided
to undo
damdecided
undo the damda’s
alfalfa
It field
was
da’s
an
alfalfa
field.
It was
an the
day to new restrictions on guns.
Pineda’s
was redrawn
to they
town’s
elected
leaders
had
Problem
solved.
pyramids,
which
from
around
the
decried
the
very
idea
of
a
Wal-Mart
close
White so
House
officialstoreallowdraw
Wal-Mart’s tourists
store.
map.
The
leaders
wanted
to
just
approved
a
new
zoning
The plan
was
simple.
The
barely
mile from
anage with
one and
well-placed
age awith
one itswell-placed
ideal location, just
ideal
thislocation,
just off
this
vague and
noncommittal
Problemoff
solved.
map. The leaders wanted to
Wal-Mart
de contended
Mexico mained
broke
limit
growth
near
the
pyraabout
how
President
Obama
world.
With
its
usual
precision,
Wal-Mart
calcua
cultural
treasure.
They
the
town’s
Wal-Mart
de
Mexico
broke
limit
growth bustling
near the pyra- main entrance
zoning
map
would
not
become
$52,000
bribe.
$52,000
bribe.
cient
pyramids,
which
draw
town’s
town’s
bustling
main
entrance
would translate into action his
ground months later, provokmids, and they considered the ground months later, provokmids,
and they
the public
rhetoric
Sunday in Newfierce opposition.
Protestlated
it would
attract
customers
an hour
if considered
traditional
markets
be
decimated,
law
untilProtestitsoaring
was
published
in a
town’s
main
entrance
too
tourists
fromplan
around
the opposition.
was
simple.
The
The
was
Thewould
and
barely
a conmileing
from
and
its250
anbarely
aThe
mileplan
from
its
antown, when he appeared to presing simple.
fierce
town’s
main
entrance
too
congested already. As a result, ers decried the very idea of a
age
an
effort
to
curb access to So
Wal-Mart
socient
close
to
a culturgovernment
newspaper.
only
it
could
put
a
store
in
Mrs.
Pineda’s
field.
the
2003 zoning
map prohibworld.
With
its
usual
preciits
traffic
mess
made
worse.
Months
of
hunger
zoning
map
would
not
become
zoning
map
would
not
become
cient
pyramids,
which
draw
pyramids,
which
draw
ers
decried
the
very
idea
of
a
guns. But many Democrats, ingested already. As a result,
ited commercial development al treasure. They contended
cluding
several from
conservatown’s traditional
public law
de Mexico
arranged
until
it was
published
law
inuntil
aprohibitcalculated
was
published
in
a to
sion,
it so Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
close
a culturon
Mrs. Pineda’s
field,
seem- the
tourists
from
around
tourists
the
from
around
the Wal-Mart
One
major
obstacle
stood
in
Wal-Mart’s
strikes
and
sit-ins
consumed
Mexico’s
methe
2003
zoning
map
tive states, news
said Congress
should
markets
would
be
decimated,
ingly dooming Wal-Mart’s
take
up
the
issue
next
and
to
an
official
to year,
change
al the
treasure.
They
contended
traffic mess
made worse.
government
newspaper.
So
newspaper.
Sobribe
would government
attract
250
customers
world.
With its its
usual
world.
preciWith
its usual
precihopes.
ited commercial
development
way.
dia.
Yet
for
all
scrutiny,
the
story
the
alone Senate of
chairman
promised
Months
of
hunger
strikes
and
But 30 miles away in Mexthe put
town’s
traditional
public it was sent to
hearings.
the map before
Mexico’s
Wal-Mart
Mexico
arranged
Wal-Mart
Mexico
arranged
anithour
if only
itdecould
aa secret.
sion,
calculated
sion,
itWal-Mart
calculated
ondeMrs.
Pineda’s
field,
seemico
City, at Wal-Mart
the headquarters sit-ins
Senator
Joe opened
Manchin III of
After
years
ofconsumed
study,
the
town’s
elected
tered
map
remained
The
store
of Wal-Mart de Mexico, exec- news media. Yet for all the
markets
would
benewspaper,
decimated,
West Virginia, records
an advocate of gun
the
and
to
bribe
an
official
to
change
to
bribe
an
official
to
change
scrutiny,
the
story
of
the
alingly
dooming
Wal-Mart’s
store
in
Mrs.
Pineda’s
field.
would
attract
250
customers
would
attract
250
customers
utives were not about to be
rights
who
drew
attention in 2010
tered approved
map remained a secret.
leaders had just
a the
new
zoning
map.
for
Christmas
2004,
affirming
Wal-Mart’s
itsit traffic
mess
made worse.
by
running
a
commercial
that
interviews
show.
Sure
hopes.
map
before
it
was
sent
the
map
to
before
was
sent
to
The
store
opened
for
Christstood in
an hour if only it couldan
put
hour
a if only it could put One
a major obstacleMonths
showed
him firing a rifle into a
of in
hunger
strikes
and
mas 2004, affirming
Wal- growth near the
The in
leaders
wanted
todominance
limit
emerging
Mexico.
But
30 Wal-Mart’s
miles
away
in Mex-dominance
enough,
when
the map
piece of legislation
serving aswas
a
the Pineda’s
newspaper,
records
the
and
newspaper,
records
and
Mart’s emerging
way.
store
Mrs. Pineda’s
field.
store
in Mrs.
field.
sit-ins consumed Mexico’s
target, said “everything should
in Mexico.
ico
City,
at
the
headquarters
published,
the
zoning
for
Mrs.
pyramids,
and
they
considered
the
town’s
main
The
secret
held
even
after
a
former
Walbe
on
the
table”
as
gun
control
is
interviews
show.
interviews
Sure
show.
Sure
The secret
heldOne
even
a
After years of study,
One major obstacle
stood
inafter
major
obstacle stood in
news the
media. Yet for all
the
debated
in the coming weeks and
former Wal-Mart de Mexico
ofwhen
de
Mexico,
execPineda’s
field
was
redrawn
enough,
the
map
enough,
wasde
when
thelawyer
map
was
months.
entrance way.
too congested
already.
aWal-Mart
result,
Mart
Mexico
contacted
Wal-Mart
ex- to
town’s
elected
leaders
had
Wal-Mart’s
Wal-Mart’s
way.Asutives
lawyer contacted
Wal-Mart
scrutiny,
the
story
of
the
alThe receptiveness to new gun
were
not
about
to
be
executives in Bentonville,
allow
Wal-Mart’s
store.
published,
the
zoning
for
published,
Mrs.
the
zoning
for
Mrs.
laws
from
figures
like
Mr.
Manmap remained
a secret. Ark., and
zoning
the
2003
zoning
map
prohibited
and
told them
how Wal-years of study, just
ecutives
in Bentonville,
After
years
ofArk.,study,
After
the
the approved a newtered
chin suggested the National Rifle
Mart de Mexico routinely reProblem
solved.
Pineda’s
field
was
redrawn
Pineda’s
to
field
was
redrawn
to
The
store
opened
for
ChristAssociation, long one of the most
to how Wal-Mart
town’s
electeddevelopment
leaders
town’s
hadthe
had The leaders wanted
sorted
to bribery,
citing
commercial
onal-elected
Mrs. leaders map.
told them
dein Mexpowerful lobbies
Washington,
tered map as but one exam- allow Wal-Mart’s store. allow Wal-Mart’s
masstore.
2004, affirming
WalWal-Mart
de
broke
would
face aMexico
strong test of its
inlimit
growth
near
the
pyrajust
approved
a
new
zoning
just
approved
a
new
zoning
ple.
His
detailed
account
—
he
Pineda’s field, seemingly
dooming
ico
routinely
resorted
to
bribery,
fluence
in
the
coming
months if it
Mart’s
emerging
dominance
had been in charge of getting
ground
months
later,
provokProblem
solved.
Problem
solved.
sought
to
fend
off
tougher
remids,
and
they
considered
the
map.
The
leaders
wanted
map.
to
The
leaders
wanted
to
building permits throughout
strictions.as
Leaders
of the
organWal-Mart’s hopes.
citing
the
altered
but
one
Mexico.
Mexico — raised alarms at
ing
fiercemap
opposition.
Wal-Mart
de pyraMexico
broke
Wal-Mart
dein
Mexico
broke
ization
have declined Protestinterview
town’s main
entrance
too
conlimit growth near
thelevels
limit
pyragrowth
near the
the highest
of Wal-Mart
The
secret
held
even
after
a
requests account
since the shootings,
But 30 miles
away
in Mexico
example.
His
detailed
—theof a
and prompted
an internal
in- ground months later, provokers decried
the
very
idea
months
later,
provokgroup’s
Twitter
account
has gone
already.
As aformer
result,
mids, and they considered
theand
they consideredgested
the ground
vestigation. mids,
Wal-Mart de Mexico
silent, and it has deactivated its
But
as
The
New
York
Times
Wal-Mart
so
close
to
a
culturCity, at
theentrance
headquarters
of
Walhe
hadProtestbeen in charge
of getting
ing
fierce opposition.
Protestingzoning
fierce opposition.
Facebook page.
the 2003
maplawyer
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main
too
town’s
conmain
entrance
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revealed in
April,
Wal-Mart’s
As the
criminalcontended
inquiry proal
treasure.
They
leaders
shut down the investi- were
ers
decried
the
very
idea
ers
of
decried
a
the
very
idea
of
a
Mart
de
Mexico,
executives
building
permits
throughout
Mexited
commercial
development
ceeded,
investigators
studying a
gested already. gation
As ina 2006.
gested
result,
As a result,
executives in Bentonville,
They did already.
so
computer
taken
from
the house
of
the
town’s
traditional
public
even though their investiga- Wal-Mart so close
to
a
culturWal-Mart
so
close
to
a
culturArk.,
and
told
them
how
Walon
Mrs.
Pineda’s
field,
seemnot
about
to betors
thwarted
by anzoning
un- map prohibico — raised alarmstheat
the highest
Connecticut
gunman, Adam
the
2003
zoning
map
prohibthe 2003
In
Teotihuacán,
Emmanuel
had found a wealth of eviLanza,
said
it
was
so
badly
dammarkets
would
be
decimated,
contended
aldooming
treasure. Wal-Mart’s
They
contended
supporting the lawyer’s al treasure. They
D’Herrera
helped lead pro- dence
Mart
de of
Mexico
routinely
reingly
ited
commercial
development
ited commercial
aged
that prompted
they were not optifavorable
zoning
decision.
Instead, development
levels
Wal-Mart
and
Continued on Page B6
tests against Wal-Mart.
mistic
that they
would be worse.
able to
its
traffic
mess
made
sorted
to
bribery,
citing
the
althe
town’s
traditional
the
public
town’s
traditional
public
A
hearse
carrying
the
body
of
Jack
Pinto,
6,
approached
Newtown
Village
Cemetery
on
Monday.
hopes.
on
Mrs. Pineda’s
field, on
seemMrs. Pineda’s
field, seemget any information from it, a law
records
and interviews
show,
they
an
internal
investigation.
enforcement
official
said
map as
but oneofexamMonths
hunger strikesMon-and
markets would
be But
decimated,
markets
beMexdecimated,
30 miles would
awaytered
in
ingly
dooming
dooming
Wal-Mart’s
day. [Page A30.]
decided
to undo Wal-Mart’s
the ingly
damage
with
But
as
The
New
Times
ple.
His
detailed
account
—
he
The York
Federal Bureau
of Investisit-ins
consumed
Mexico’s
its With
traffic the
mess
made
its
worse.
mess
made
worse.
Obama
Close
ico
City,
attraffic
the
headquarters
hopes. Offers Fiscal Plan
hopes.
Why
Elusive,
Two
Boys,
Two
Burials
gation, which has more expertise
had
been
in
charge
of
getting
one well-placed $52,000 bribe.Months of hunger
revealed
in
April,
Wal-Mart’s
leadnews
media.
Yet
for
allCon-the
in computer
forensics
than
strikes
Months
and
of
hunger
strikes
and
of Wal-Mart
de
Mexico,
exec30 miles
away
in MexBut
30 miles away in Mexhis eyes.
“We liked to throughout
wres- necticut’s state forensic laboratoYork Giants and
proudly
worebuilding
a bing
permits
To But
G.O.P.’s,
butwas
Hurdles
Remain
scrutiny,
the
story
theto alredsit-ins
Little League consumed
cap adorneders
tle. We
played
Wii.
We just played
ry, has
been
part ofof
the effort
sit-ins
consumed
Mexico’s
Mexico’s
The
plan
simple.
The
zonshut
down
the
investigation
By DAN BARRY utives
not
about
ico City, at the headquarters
ico City, at the headquarters
withwere
a large N for
the name
of his
data from the computer,
allto
the be
time.
believe alarms
I’m recoverat
Mexico
—I can’t
raised
tered
map
remained
a
secret.
hometown.
He
was
a
spinning
top
the
official
said.
news
media.
Yet
for
all
news
the
media.
Yet
for
all
the
never
going
to
see
him
again.”
NEWTOWN,
Conn.
—
Noah
mapBy JONATHAN
would
not ofbecome
law
in highest
2006.
They
did
soA federal
even
though
the
levels
WEISMAN
ofing
Wal-Mart
de Mexico,
execWal-Mart
de Mexico,
law enforcement offiPozner
loved tacos, so execmuch so of a boy, bouncing from one activThe how of their
deathsof
is, Wal-Mart
by
The
store
opened
for
Christscrutiny,
the
story
scrutiny,
althe
story
of
the
alto
the next,
as if the
day could
cial
said the Bureau
of Alcohol,
that he talked
of wanting
to beofity the
WASHINGTON — President that obstacles remained.
now,
internationally
known.
A
20prompted
an internalhad
in- found a
until
itwere
was
published
inaway
a governtheir
investigators
utives
not
about
utives
to
be
were
not
about
tofactory
be never contain all the fun to beand
manager
of a taco
year-old man named Adam Lan- Tobacco, Firearms and ExploObama
delivered
to Speaker
“Any movement
from
the the
affirming
Waltered
secret.
tered map remained
a secret.
had.
determined that Mr.
when map
he grew remained
up; that way, he a
za shot and
killedmas
his mother2004,
on sives had
John A. Boehner a new offer on unrealistic offers the president
vestigation.
ment
So Wal-Mart
of evidence
supporting
The people of Newtown buriedwealth
and his mother,the
Nancy
Friday morning.
Then, armed Lanza
Monday
to resolve newspaper.
the pending has made previously
is a step in would be able to eat a taco whenMart’s
emerging
dominance
The
store
opened
for
ChristThe
store
opened
for
Christthese
two
boys
under
an
ashen
Lanza,
visited
firing
ranges
toBut
as
The
New
York
Times
with an assault rifle and two
fiscal crisis, a deal that would the right direction,” said Brendan ever he wanted. He had a way of
and separately
in recent
Mexico
arranged
toforbribe
allegations.
The
decision
charming his elders and loved his sky on Monday afternoon, in thelawyer’s
handguns, he shot
his
way into gether
Buck, a spokesman
Mr. Boeh- an
raise de
revenues
by $1.2 trillion
in
Mexico.
mas
2004,
affirming
mas
Wal2004,
affirming
Walrevealed
in
April,
Wal-Mart’s
first
of
the
many
funerals
to
folthe elementary school and killed years, with one known occasion
over the next decade but keep in ner. “We hope to continue dis- siblings, including a twin sister
low last week’s massacre at themeant
of
their goingnot
It was not
in another classroom
20 first-grade
children
and
six investitorates
change
authorities
were
notiwith themap
presidentbefore
so Mart’s
we who was emerging
placeofficial
the Bush-era tax
for cussionsthe
leaders
shut
down
the
The
secret
heldtogether.
even
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dominance
Mart’s
emerging
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Sandy
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school officials, all women, before clear whether they had both fired
any household with earnings be- can reach an agreement that is that day.
They
were
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old.
weapons
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that
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gation
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2006.
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balanced
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de
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Mexico.
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The White House offered no
The why of their deaths,
DANIEL AGUILAR/REUTERS
The offer is close to a plan pro- solve our spending problem.”
Noah were gone settled like the
even
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Continued on Page
A32
though,
isthe
still
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pieced investigato- contacted
The two sides show.
are now dickerlawyer
Wal-Mart
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by the speaker
on Friday,
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that could be passed well before
ham L. Green and Sons Funeralduct were never asked, much less
lished, the zoning
for Mrs. Pinevestigating
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and
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Continued
on
Page
B6
tests
against
Wal-Mart.
January, when more than a half- president a deficit framework
Home
in Fairfield, where a JewMart de Mexico
routinely reexecutives in Bentonville,
executives
in Bentonville,
The
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Signaling
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Starts the
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How
Wal-Mart
Used
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© 2012 The New York Times
Pro-GunPro-Gun
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Town
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To Get
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How Wal-Mart
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DANIEL AGUILAR/REUTERS
ADREES LATIF/REUTERS
trillion dollars in automatic tax
increases and spending cuts
would kick in.
Senior Republican aides said
the speaker was to meet with
ing witnesses — including chil- test of its political power.
A31
APAGE
hearse
carry
ish service was held for Noah.
dren — to develop the complete,
An
8-year-old
boy named
WHAT HAPPENED
From school
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citing
the
Ark., and told them how
Ark.,
Wal-and
toldNo-them
how Wallan Krieger, dressed in khaki unsettling picture.
First, though, there was Mon- ficials, parents and police, a repants
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tered
mapcounting
as ofbut
onePAGE
examMart de Mexico routinely
Mart
dedress
Mexico
re- a week
A31
the shooting.
day, just after Hanukkah,
that would raise $1 trillion over 10
years, with the details to be settled next year by Congress’s taxwriting committees and the Obama administration. In response,
THE NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012
N
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH
HANER/THE
NEW YORK
TIMES
PHOTOGRAPHS
BY JOSH HANER/THE
NEW YORK
TIMES
A STORE BUILT ON BRIBES
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH H
Without paying more than $200,000 in bribes, Wal-Mart almost certainly would not have been able to build its Bodega Aurrera supermarket in Teotihuacán.
bribes, Wal-Mart almost certainly would not have been
able toBUILT
buildON
itsBRIBES
Bodega Aurrera supermarket
inBUILT
Teotihuacán.
A STORE
A STORE
ON BRIBES
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH HANER/THE NEW YORK TIMES
ng more than $200,000
in
bribes,
Wal-Mart
almost
certainly
would
not
have
been
able
to
build
its
Bodega
Aurrera
supermarket
Without
paying
more
than
$200,000
in
bribes,
Wal-Mart
almost
certainly
would
not have
been able it
How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs to Get Its Way in Mexico
tWal-Mart
Used Payoffs
to
Get
Its
Way
in
Mexico
Used
Payoffs
to
Get
Its
Way
in
M
How
Wal-Mart
Used
Payoffs
to
Ge
sed Payoffs to Get Its Way in Mexico
-Mart almost certainly would not have been able to build its Bodega Aurrera supermarket in Teotihuacán.
From Page A1
answered.
The Times has now picked up where WalMart’s internal investigation was cut off, traveling to dozens of towns and cities in Mexico,
gathering tens of thousands of documents related to Wal-Mart de Mexico permits, and interviewing scores of government officials and
Wal-Mart employees, including 15 hours of interviews with the former lawyer, Sergio Cicero
Zapata.
The Times’s examination reveals that WalMart de Mexico was not the reluctant victim of
a corrupt culture that insisted on bribes as the
cost of doing business. Nor did it pay bribes
merely to speed up routine approvals. Rather,
Wal-Mart de Mexico was an aggressive and
creative corrupter, offering large payoffs to
get what the law otherwise prohibited. It used
bribes to subvert democratic governance —
public votes, open debates, transparent procedures. It used bribes to circumvent regulatory
safeguards that protect Mexican citizens from
gations. The decision meant authoriwere not notified. It also meant basuestions about the nature, extent
impact of Wal-Mart de Mexico’s
duct were never asked, much less
wered.
From Page A1
he Times has now picked up where
-Mart’s
internal
investigation
was
oriThe
off, travelingallegations.
to dozens of towns
and decision meant authoribass in Mexico,ties
gathering
tens
of thouwere
not
notified. It also meant basds
of documents related to Wal-Mart
ent
ic questions
about the nature, extent
Mexico permits,
and interviewing
co’s
es of government
and Waland officials
impact
of Wal-Mart de Mexico’s
t employees, including 15 hours of
ess
conduct were never asked, much less
rviews with the former lawyer, Seranswered.
Cicero Zapata.
he
Times’s examination reveals that
ere
The Times has now picked up where
-Mart de Mexico was not the rewas
investigation was
ant victim ofWal-Mart’s
a corrupt cultureinternal
that
sted on bribes
as off,
the cost
of doing to dozens of towns and
and
cut
traveling
ness. Nor did it pay bribes merely
oucities
in Mexico,
peed up routine
approvals.
Rather, gathering tens of thouMart
-Mart de Mexico
was of
an aggressive
sands
documents related to Wal-Mart
creative corrupter, offering large
ing
de the
Mexico
permits, and interviewing
offs to get what
law otherwise
Walhibited. It used
bribesoftogovernment
subvert
scores
officials and Wal— public votes,
snocratic
of governance
Mart employees,
debates, transparent
procedures. including 15 hours of
Sersed bribes tointerviews
circumvent regulatory
with the former lawyer, Serguards that protect Mexican citigio
Cicero
Zapata.
s from unsafe construction. It used
hat
es to outflank rivals.
The Times’s examination reveals that
hrough
Wal-Mart docure- confidential
Wal-Mart
destore
Mexico was not the rets, The Times
identified 19
shat
across Mexico
that were
the target
luctant
victim
of a corrupt culture that
Wal-Mart
de Mexico’s bribes. The
ing
insisted
on
bribes
as the cost of doing
es then matched information about
rely
cific bribes against
permitNor
records
business.
did it pay bribes merely
each site. Clear patterns emerged.
her,
to speed up routine approvals. Rather,
r and over, for example, the dates of
dedates
Mexico was an aggressive
eive
paymentsWal-Mart
coincided with
n critical and
permitscreative
were issued.
rge
corrupter, offering large
in and again, the strictly forbidden
wise
payoffs
to get what the law otherwise
ame miraculously
attainable.
vert
hanks to eight
bribe payments
prohibited.
It to-used bribes to subvert
keep the town attractive as a to
destination, they decided to limit d
opment in the “archaeological zon
buffer of protected land that enci
the town
pyramids.
At the same as
time,a
keep the
attractive
wanted a plan that would lure m
destination,
they
decided
to limi
tourists
into the
town’s central
squa
ke
tourists didnz
opment in“People
the complained
“archaeological
into town,” said Víctor Ortiz, a de
par
keep the town
attractive
as afirm
tourist
buffer
ofin the
protected
land
e
consulting
the that
town op
hire
draw up its
new
zoning
plan. tim
destination,the
theypyramids.
decided
toAt
limit
develthe
same
bu
early 2003, just as Mr. Ortiz’s
opment in the
“archaeological
zone,”
a lur
wanted
aByplan
that
would
was
finishing
its work,
Wal-Mar
the
buffer of protected
landthe
that
encircles
had
settled
oncentral
Teotihuacán
tourists Mexico
into
town’s
sq
wa
ripe same
target fortime,
expansion.
Its pop
the pyramids.“People
At the
they
complained
tourists
d
tou
tion, nearly 50,000, was growing
wanted a plan
that
lure was
more
andwould
its
commerce
dominated
into town,”
said
Víctor
Ortiz,
a
smallcentral
neighborhood
shops and a t
tourists intointhe
town’s
square.
the
consulting
the
tional public firm
market
in town
the int
ce
“People complained
didn’t
goof com
— exactly
the plan.
type
draw upsquare
its tourists
new
zoning
in
tion
Wal-Mart
de
Mexico
had
into town,” said
Ortiz,
aafter
partner
By Víctor
early
2003,
just
astown.
Mr. Orti
dr
quished
in town
in the consulting
firmMr.theCicero,
town
hired
to
was finishing
its awork,
Wal-M
trim, sharp-feat
man, plan.
recalled how Mrs. Pineda’s al
draw up its new
zoning
Mexico
had
settled on Teotihuac
field jumped out as Wal-Mart’s wa
rea
By early 2003,
justtateasexecutives
Mr. expansion.
Ortiz’s
firm
ripe target
for
Its
scoured
aerial
Mph
graphs
of
Teotihuacán.
By
putting
was finishing
work,50,000,
Wal-Mart
tion,itsnearly
was de
growisu
of Wal-Mart’s Bodega Aurrerarip
Mexico hadand
settled
on
Teotihuacán
a entra
its markets
commerce
wasas
domina
at the town’s
main
tio
they could create
a choke and
point
ripe target small
for expansion.
Its populaneighborhood
shops
would effectively place the townan
off
tion, nearlytional
50,000,public
growing
fast,
market
inwas the
itswas
to competitors.
There
also
s
sm
to
add
other
types
of
Wal-Mart
stor
and its commerce
was
dominated
by oftio
square —
exactly
the type
c
restaurants or department store
small neighborhood
shops
and
tradition Wal-Mart
de“WeaMexico
ha
down
the road.
would
be slamm
sq
the
whole
town,” he said
tional public
market
inon the
the
central
quished
in gate
town
after
town.
tio
But Wal-Mart officials got a cold
square — exactly
the
typeaoftrim,
competiMr. Cicero,
sharp-f
ception when
they began
to qu
inq
tion Wal-Mart
Mexico
had
vanabout
permits
Teotihuacán’s
mu
man, de
recalled
howat
Mrs.
Pineda’
pal
offices.
Saúl
Martínez,
an
empl
quished in town
town.
field after
jumped
Wal-Mart’s
in the out
urbanas
development
office
ma
Mr. Cicero,
trim,
sharp-featured
called telling
Wal-Mart’s aerial
represe
tate aexecutives
scoured
fie
tives that
a supermarket
no
man, recalled
how Mrs.
Pineda’s
alfalfa
graphs
of
Bycould
putt
tat
builtTeotihuacán.
in Mrs. Pineda’s field,
because
field jumpedofout
asfield
Wal-Mart’s
real
es- Wal-M
was zoned
for
housing.
Wal-Mart’s
Bodega
Aurrera
gra
would need
a zoningphototate executives
scoured
markets
at theaerial
town’schange.
mainBut
en
permarket, he told them, was of
sur
unsafe construction. It used bribes to outflank
rivals.
Through confidential Wal-Mart documents,
The Times identified 19 store sites across Mexico that were the target of Wal-Mart de Mexico’s
bribes. The Times then matched information
about specific bribes against permit records
for each site. Clear patterns emerged. Over and
over, for example, the dates of bribe payments
coincided with dates when critical permits were
issued. Again and again, the strictly forbidden
became miraculously attainable.
Thanks to eight bribe payments totaling
$341,000, for example, Wal-Mart built a Sam’s
Club in one of Mexico City’s most densely
populated neighborhoods, near the Basílica de
Guadalupe, without a construction license, or
an environmental permit, or an urban impact
assessment, or even a traffic permit. Thanks
to nine bribe payments totaling $765,000, WalMart built a vast refrigerated distribution center in an environmentally fragile flood basin
north of Mexico City, in an area where electricity was so scarce that many smaller developers
were turned away.
But there is no better example of Wal-Mart
de Mexico’s methods than its conquest of Mrs.
Pineda’s alfalfa field. In Teotihuacán, The Times
found that Wal-Mart de Mexico executives approved at least four different bribe payments
— more than $200,000 in all — to build just a medium-size supermarket. Without those payoffs,
records and interviews show, Wal-Mart almost
surely would not have been allowed to build in
Mrs. Pineda’s field.
The Teotihuacán case also raises new questions about the way Wal-Mart’s leaders in the
United States responded to evidence of widespread corruption in their largest foreign subsidiary.
Wal-Mart’s leadership was well aware of
the protests here in 2004. (The controversy was
covered by several news outlets in the United
States, including The Times.) From the start,
protest leaders insisted that corruption surely
played a role in the store’s permits. Although
woefully short on specifics, their complaints
prompted multiple investigations by Mexican
authorities. One of those investigations was still
under way when Wal-Mart’s top executives first
learned of Mr. Cicero’s account of bribes in Teotihuacán (pronounced Tay-o-tea-wah-KHAN).
But Wal-Mart’s leaders did not tell Mexican authorities about his allegations, not even
after their own investigators concluded there
was “reasonable suspicion” to believe laws had
been violated, records and interviews show.
Unaware of this new evidence, Mexican investigators said they could find no wrongdoing in
Teotihuacán.
Wal-Mart has been under growing scrutiny
since The Times disclosed its corruption problems in Mexico, where it is the largest private
employer, with 221,000 people working in 2,275
stores, supermarkets and restaurants.
In the United States, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating possible violations of
the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal
law that makes it a crime for American corporations or their subsidiaries to bribe foreign officials. Mexican authorities and Congressional
Democrats have also begun investigations, and
Wal-Mart has been hit by shareholder lawsuits
from several major pension funds.
Wal-Mart declined to discuss its conduct in
Teotihuacán while it is continuing its own investigation. The company has hired hundreds of
lawyers, investigators and forensic accountants
who are examining all 27 of its foreign markets.
It has already found potentially serious wrongdoing, including indications of bribery in China,
Brazil and India. Several top executives in Mexico and India have been suspended or forced to
resign in recent months.
Wal-Mart has also tightened oversight of its
internal investigations. It has created high-level
positions to help root out corruption. It is spending millions on anticorruption training and
background checks of the lawyers and lobbyists
who represent Wal-Mart before foreign governments. The company has spent more than $100
million on investigative costs this year.
“We are committed to having a strong and
effective global anticorruption program everywhere we operate and taking appropriate action
for any instance of noncompliance,” said David
W. Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman.
In Mexico, a major focus of Wal-Mart’s investigation is none other than the boxy, brown
supermarket in Mrs. Pineda’s alfalfa field.
Eight years later, it remains the most controversial Wal-Mart in Mexico, a powerful symbol of globalism’s impact on Mexican culture
and commerce.
As it turns out, the store also took on symbolic importance within Wal-Mart de Mexico,
Mr. Cicero said in an interview. Executives, he
said, came to believe that by outmuscling protesters and building in the shadow of a revered
national treasure, they would send a message to
the entire country: If we can build here, we can
build anywhere.
City of the Gods
In ancient times, Teotihuacán was a sprawling metropolis of perhaps 150,000 people. The
“city of the gods,” as the Aztecs called it, rose
up around a vast temple complex and two great
pyramids, the Sun and the Moon. The ancient
city is long gone, buried under farm fields, small
pueblos and the detritus of bygone civilizations.
But the temple complex and pyramids remain,
which is why Teotihuacán is so central to Mexico’s cultural patrimony.
Teotihuacán’s leaders naturally wanted to
Wal-Mart Used Payoffs to Get Its Way in M
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vendors, above, were among those most concerned about Wal-Mart’s plans to enter Teotihuacán.
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protect this legacy as they began work on a new
zoning plan in 2001. To keep the town attractive
as a tourist destination, they decided to limit
development in the “archaeological zone,” a
buffer of protected land that encircles the pyramids. At the same time, they wanted a plan that
would lure more tourists into the town’s central
square.
“People complained tourists didn’t go into
town,” said Víctor Ortiz, a partner in the consulting firm the town hired to draw up its new
zoning plan.
By early 2003, just as Mr. Ortiz’s firm was
finishing its work, Wal-Mart de Mexico had settled on Teotihuacán as a ripe target for expansion. Its population, nearly 50,000, was growing
fast, and its commerce was dominated by small
neighborhood shops and a traditional public
market in the central square — exactly the type
of competition Wal-Mart de Mexico had vanquished in town after town.
Mr. Cicero, a trim, sharp-featured man, recalled how Mrs. Pineda’s alfalfa field jumped out
as Wal-Mart’s real estate executives scoured
aerial photographs of Teotihuacán. By putting
one of Wal-Mart’s Bodega Aurrera supermarkets at the town’s main entrance, they could
create a choke point that would effectively place
the town off limits to competitors. There was
also space to add other types of Wal-Mart stores
— restaurants or department stores — down
the road. “We would be slamming the gate on
the whole town,” he said.
But Wal-Mart officials got a cold reception
when they began to inquire about permits at
Teotihuacán’s municipal offices. Saúl Martínez,
an employee in the urban development office,
recalled telling Wal-Mart’s representatives that
a supermarket could not be built in Mrs. Pineda’s field, because the field was zoned for housing. Wal-Mart would need a zoning change. But
a supermarket, he told them, was sure to generate strong opposition because of the traffic
chaos it would create.
“Go look for something else,” he recalled
telling Wal-Mart.
At first, Mr. Cicero’s team thought it had
found a perfectly legal solution to the zoning
problem. Only a narrow strip of land separated
Mrs. Pineda’s field from Hidalgo Avenue, the
main road into town. If Wal-Mart could build an
entrance across that strip, zoning rules would
let it rely on Hidalgo Avenue’s zoning, which allowed commercial development. But Wal-Mart
could not get a right of way, despite months of
trying.
By then, the municipality was rushing to
complete its new zoning plan. Officials were
already holding public meetings to present
the plan and solicit feedback. A final vote was
scheduled for Aug. 6, 2003.
The Times obtained four different copies
of the new zoning map as it existed on the eve
of the vote. All four, including two found in the
town’s urban development office, confirm that
housing was the only kind of development allowed on Mrs. Pineda’s field. There is no record
of Wal-Mart seeking a last-minute change, and
nine officials closely involved in drafting the
plan all said in separate interviews that they
were certain Wal-Mart made no such request.
“I would remember,” said Humberto Peña,
then the mayor of Teotihuacán. “And if they
would have asked that, my answer would have
been no.”
After two years of painstaking work, Mr.
Peña and the municipal council unanimously
approved Teotihuacán’s new zoning plan on
Aug. 6
The next day Mr. Peña sent the new map to
the state’s Office of Urban and Regional Planning, a bureaucratic outpost of roughly a dozen
employees in Toluca, the State of Mexico’s capital. The office’s main job was to verify that local
zoning plans fit the state’s development goals.
It also handled the critical final step — arranging publication of completed plans in the state’s
official newspaper, the Government’s Gazette.
An Altered Map
If the council’s vote seemingly dashed WalMart’s hopes for Teotihuacán, Wal-Mart de
Mexico’s executives certainly acted as if they
knew something the rest of the world did not.
On Aug. 12, records show, they asked WalMart’s leadership in the United States to approve their plan to spend about $8 million on
a Bodega Aurrera in Mrs. Pineda’s field. The
request was approved by Wal-Mart’s international real estate committee, made up of 20 or so
top executives, including S. Robson Walton, the
company’s chairman.
The committee’s approval, records show,
was contingent on obtaining “zoning for com-
San Juan
Teotihuacán
STATE OF
MEXICO
THE NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012
in road
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art de
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,
B7
Main entrance to
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pyramid
complex
THE NEW YORK
DECEMB
BUSINESS
ToTIMES
Sun and Moon
0.1 miles
HE NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2012
30 MILES
Teotihuacán
N
Pyramids
Mexico City
San Juan
Teotihuacán
STATE OF
MEXICO
ToMain
Sun
andtoMoon
entrance
pyramid Pyramids
complex
Main road
into town
Teotihuacán
30 MILES
Mexico City
STATE OF
MEXICO
Wal-Mart
site
Wal-Mart
site
San
Main
roadJuan
into town
Teotihuacán
Temple of
Quetzalcóatl
132
Main entrance
to
132
pyramid complex
Main entrance t
pyramid comple
30 MILES
Temple of
Quetzalcóatl
Area rezoned
after bribes
were paid
FOUR BRIBES, ONE WAL-MART
0.1 miles
Area rezoned
after bribes
were paid
$52,000
132
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$25,900
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
wanted to build by the main
site
entrance into Teotihuacán, in a spot
Wal-Mart de Mexico faced a series of
The biggest hurdle was Teotihuacán’s
legal obstacles in its quest to build a
zoning map. It clearly prohibited
supermarket
in the protected
commercial development where
already choked with traffic. Wal-Mart
FOUR BRIBES,
ONE WAL-MART
132de
archaeological zone around the pyramid
Wal-Mart wanted to build. Wal-Mart de
Mexico authorized a $25,900 bribe
complex in Teotihuacán. It overcame
Mexico authorized a $52,000 bribe
payment to gain the approval of local
Wal-Mart
de Mexico faced a series
of
The biggest hurdle
was Teotihuacán’s
those obstacles by authorizing bribes,
payment to have the map altered,
traffic authorities, records and
legal
in its quest to records
build and
a interviews show.
records obstacles
and interviews show.
zoning map. Itinterviews
clearlyshow.
prohibited
$52,000
Main road
$114,000
into town
132
Up to $81,000
Facing certain opposition from local
Wal-Mart could not build by the pyramids
merchants and residents, Wal-Mart de
without a permit from the agency that
Mexico executives agreed to pay
protects Mexico’s cultural landmarks.
$114,000 in bribes to guarantee the
Wal-Mart de Mexico offered a “donation”
support of Teotihuacán’s mayor and his
of up to $45,000 and a “personal gift” of
Wal-Mart wanted to build by
the main
Facing certain oppo
allies on the municipal council, records
up to $36,000 in exchange for the
entrance
into Teotihuacán,permit,
in a records
spot and interviewsmerchants
and resi
and interviews
show.
show.
$25,900
$114,000
Mexico executives a
supermarket in the protected
archaeological zone around the pyramid
complex in Teotihuacán. It overcame
those obstacles by authorizing bribes,
THE ORIGINAL MAP
132
records and interviews show.
commercial development where
Wal-Mart wanted to build. Wal-Mart de
Mexico authorized
a $52,000 bribe
Area rezoned
payment after
to have
the
map altered,
bribes
records and
interviews
were
paid show.
already choked with traffic. Wal-Mart de
$25,900
$114,000
$52,000
Up to $81,000
$25,900
Mexico
authorized
a $25,900
bribe
in bribes
intently
at the altered
map.
want to
do here,” the mayor $114,000
told his colleagues.
The
formal order
publishthe
Teotihuapayment
toto gain
approval
of local
support of Teotihua
To build in Mrs. Pineda’s field, Walcán’s new zoning plan was received by
Mart
license
the Government’s
Gazette on records
Sept. 11,
traffic authorities,
andnow needed a construction
allies
on the munici
from Teotihuacán. Construction licenses
2003. The next day, internal Wal-Mart
interviews
show.
and interviews
show
were issued by Hugo132
Hernández,
the
de Mexico
records show,
Mr. Cicero auTeotihuacán’s leaders
town’s director of urban development.
thorized five bribe payments totaling
SATELLITE
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GLOBE
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ART
approved a new zoning
Yet Mr. Hernández had thus far de$221,000. According to the internal
clined to give Wal-Mart a license berecords, the bribes were for obtaining
map on Aug. 6, 2003.
cause it still lacked several approvals —
zoning changes to build five supermarThat map prohibited
an environmental permit, forintently
example. at the alter
kets.
One
of
the
payments,
for
$52,000,
any commercial
FOUR BRIBES, ONE WAL-MART
But Wal-Mart de Mexico had found a
was for the Bodega Aurrera in Teotihuadevelopment on the
The
friend
in
Mayor
Rodríguez,
who
now, informal orde
cán,Wal-Mart
Mr. Cicero saidcould
in an interview.
plot wanted
where Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
to buildde
byMexico
the main
Facing
local
not did
build
byprivate,
the pyramids
faced a series
of certain opposition
The biggestfrom
hurdle
was Teotihuacán’s
Wal-Mart
to buildtoby
main
Facinp
explained
the the
council
whynew
it
Wal-Mart de Mexico officials
not wanted
cán’s
zoning
wanted toWal-Mart
build its
entrance intosupermarket.
Teotihuacán,
in
a
spot
merchants
and
residents,
Wal-Mart
de
without
a
permit
from
the
agency
that
was essential to act with speed and flexthemselves pay bribes. Records
and in- into
legal obstacles in its quest to build a
zoning map. It clearly prohibited
entrance
Teotihuacán, in athe
spot
merc
Government’s
ibility to help Wal-Mart build,
regardterviews show that payoffs were made
already choked
with
traffic.
Wal-Mart
de
Mexico executives
agreed to
pay
protects Mexico’s
cultural
landmarks.
less ofwith
the inevitable
opposition.
THEsupermarket
ORIGINAL
MAP
by outside lawyers, trusted
fixers disin the protected
commercial
development
where
already
choked
traffic.
Wal-Mart
de next
Mexi
2003. The
da
“They
say that if we don’t solve this
patched
by Mr. Cicero
to deliver enveMexico authorized
a $25,900 zone
bribearound the$114,000
to guarantee
the
Wal-Mart
de Mexico
offered
a “donation”
archaeological
pyramid in bribes
Wal-Mart
wanted to
build. Wal-Mart
Mexico
authorized
a $25,900
$114
detold
Mexico
records
quickly, they
will leave,” bribe
he
the
lopes of cashde
without leaving
any trace
payment to
gain
the approval
of local It overcame
support of Teotihuacán’s
mayor and
his
of up
to $45,000
and
a “personal
gift”
ofWal-Mart,
members.
he re- five supp
of their
existence.
Wal-Mart
de MexTeotihuacán’s
leaders
brib
complex
in Teotihuacán.
Mexico authorized
a $52,000
bribe
payment
to council
gain the
approval
ofthorized
local
vealed,
had raised the possibility of a
ico’sup
written
policies said in
these
fixers
traffic authorities,
and by authorizing allies
on the municipal
to $36,000
exchange
for the
approved
arecords
new
zoning
Accordin
those
obstacles
bribes,
paymentcouncil,
to haverecords
the map altered,
traffic
authorities,
and
allies
donation. records
“They asked
me,$221,000.
‘What are
could be entrusted with up
to $280,000
you going
to ask from us?’ Irecords,
said, ‘Pay the bribe
interviewsmap
show.
show. and interviews show.to “expedite”
permit,a records
and
show.
single permit.
The interviews
bribe
on
Aug. and
6, 2003.
records
interviews show. and interviews records
interviews
show.
and i
your taxes, reach an agreement, help
payments covered the payoffs themzoning changes to
the community.’”
That map prohibited
selves, a commission for the fixer and
Then he summoned Wal-Mart’s team,
taxes. For some permits, it was left to
kets. One of the p
any commercial
led by Jorge Resendiz, one of Mr. Cicthe fixers to figure out who needed to be
ero’stold
deputies.
bribed.
In this
Cicero said,
was for the Bodega
development on the
intently at the altered map.
want
tocase,
doMr.
here,”
the Mr.
mayor
his
colinten
Mr. Resendiz got to the point. In exFrieventh was the intended recipient.
Mr. Cicero said
The
plot’swhere
zoning Wal-Mart
plot
The formal order to publish Teotihua- Mr.leagues.
change for bringing jobs andcán,
low prices
Frieventh, the son of a shoe-store
Th
designation, H500A,
to Teotihuacán, Wal-Mart wanted
someowner,
earned
a
government
salary
of
Wal-Mart
de
Me
build in Mrs. Pineda’s
field, Walcán’s new zoning plan was received by less thanTo
wanted
allowed only
houses to build its
thing extraordinary. It wanted the councán’s
$30,000 in 2003. However modpay br
to be built there.
cil memberslicense
to let Wal-Martthemselves
start conneeded
a construction
the Government’s Gazette on Sept. 11, est Mart
his pay,now
he was
in the midst
of
supermarket.
the G
struction even though it did not
have all show
amassing an impressive real estate
terviews
tha
fromFrom
Teotihuacán.
Construction
licenses
THE ORIGINAL MAP 2003. The next day, internal Wal-Mart portfolio.
the required
permits. And it wanted
2001 to 2004, property
2003.
by
outside
lawyer
them
to
do
it
then
and
there,
in
private,
show,issued
he boughtby
up most
of a Hernández, the
were
Hugo
de Mexico records show, Mr. Cicero au- records
de M
without public hearings. Wal-Mart was
city block in Toluca. The land costs
patched by Mr. Ci
director
indevelopment.
a rush to open for Christmas shopwere nearly
65 percent of
of hisurban
govTeotihuacán’s leadersthorized five bribe payments totaling alonetown’s
thori
ping.
“Timefar
is precious
for us,”
he said.
lopes
of cash witho
ernment
pay
during
those years.
Yet
Mr.
Hernández
had
thus
de$221,000.
According
to
the
internal
approved a new zoning
$221,
“If we don’t start this unit in the coming
Asked if he had ever accepted anyof
their
existence
Wal-Mart
a license
days,
we will havebea delay.”
of value to
fromgive
a Wal-Mart
reprerecor
map on Aug. 6, 2003.records, the bribes were for obtaining thingclined
Mr.
Rodríguez assured
Resendiz
written polic
sentative,
Mr.it
Freiventh
shook his several
head,
cause
still lacked
approvals
— Mr.ico’s
zonin
That map prohibitedzoning changes to build five supermar- chuckled
that the council would give its approval
and extended a hand, palm up.
THE ALTERED MAP
could
be
entrusted
an
environmental
permit,
for
example.
kets.
One
of
the
payments,
for
$52,000,
the next week.
“Bring him to me so he can pay me, no?
kets.
any commercial
The
mayor’s
aggressive
activism
was
The new map would
Have
him
bring
it
to
me.”
to
“expedite”
a
sin
But Wal-Mart de Mexico
had found a
was for the Bodega Aurrera in Teotihuawas
out of character. In interviews, former
not become law until it
Even with the right zoning, Wal-Mart
development on the
payments
covered
Mayor
who
in described
aides
and now,
colleagues
Mr.
cán, Mr. Cicero said in an interview.
still friend
needed atinleast
a dozenRodríguez,
different
was published in a
cán,
plot where Wal-Mart
Rodríguez as “insecure,” “easily
manip- a commiss
to beginexplained
construction. But
to
government
selves,
private,
to the
council why it
Wal-Mart de Mexico officials did not permits
ulated” and “passive.” He was frequentWa
apply for them, Mr. Cicero’s team first
newspaper. Wal-Mart
wanted to build its
taxes.
ly absentand
during
working hours.
“MyFor some p
to actwhich
with speed
flexto getessential
a zoning certificate,
themselves pay bribes. Records and in- had was
de Mexico bribed an
them
persistent
thought
was
that
I
was
disapsupermarket.
that a to
plot’s
zoningWal-Mart
was consisofficial to alter the
the fixers to figure
ibility
help
build,byregardterviews show that payoffs were made verified
pointed
him,” said Mr. Peña, the fortent with the proposed development.
tervi
map before it was sent
mer mayor who had been bribed.
Mr. Rodrí- In this case
lesscertificates
of the inevitable
opposition.
did not come from
by outside lawyers, trusted fixers dis- Zoning
off for publication.
guez’s political mentor.
Mr. Frieventh’s office. They were issued
Frieventh wasby
theo
“They
say that if we don’t
solve this
patched by Mr. Cicero to deliver enve- by the state
But according
to Mr. Cicero, there
Office of Urban Operations,
patch
The plot’s zoning
washe
nothing
accidental
about Mr.
RodríMr.
Frieventh, th
Wal-Mart’s request
Lidia
they went
willto leave,”
told
the
lopes of cash without leaving any trace and quickly,
lopes
guez’s enthusiasm. Wal-Mart de MexGómez, a career civil servant known as
designation, H500A,
owner,
council
members.
Wal-Mart,
of their existence. Wal-Mart de Mex- a stickler
ico, he said,he
bribedreMr. Rodríguez
to se- earned a g
for rules.
Ms. Gómez rejected
of th
allowed only houses
cure
his
support
and
that
of
his
allies
on
request.
less than $30,000 in
vealed,
had Wal-Mart
raised tried
the possibility
of a
ico’s written policies said these fixers Wal-Mart’s
the town council. The decision to bribe
ico’s
again a few months later, and again Ms.
to be built there.
est
his
pay,
he w
donation.
“They
asked
me,
‘What
are
Mr.
Rodríguez,
he
said,
was
blessed
by
could be entrusted with up to $280,000 Gómez said no, saying that even with
could
Wal-Mart de Mexico’s leaders.
Teotihuacán’s
new
map,
a
Bodega
Auramassing
an
imp
going to ask from us?’“IIdidn’t
said,receive
‘Payany money
to “expedite” a single permit. The bribe rerayou
from
to “e
would still run afoul of a rarely enIn the altered map,
From 20
Wal-Mart — nohelp
money,” Mr.portfolio.
Rodríguez
your
taxes,
payments covered the payoffs them- forced
federal
guideline.reach
Wal-Martan
wasagreement,
the land where
paym
insisted during two lengthy interviews
in the
water.
records show, he
Wal-Mart wanted to
the
community.’”
selves, a commission for the fixer and dead
with The Times.
selve
With help from Mr. Frieventh, Mr.
build had its zoning
But he struggled
to explain
whyblock
he
city
in Tolu
Then
he
summoned
Wal-Mart’s
team,
Cicero’s
team
found
a
way
around
Ms.
taxes.
For
some
permits,
it
was
left
to
changed to E-T-M, a
taxes
began
to
spend
tens
of
thousands
of
dollaw. Mr. Frieventh had
were nearly
category that
ledand
bytheJorge
Resendiz, one
ofJune
Mr.2004,
Cicthe fixers to figure out who needed to be Gómez,
lars in
the samealone
month he
no legal authority to overrule Ms.
the fi
permitted a
emerged
as
Wal-Mart’s
champion.
ernment
pay
durin
Butdeputies.
at Wal-Mart’s request,
ero’s
bribed. In this case, Mr. Cicero said, Mr. Gómez.
supermarket.
bribe
The spending is described in financial
records show, Mr. Frieventh wrote a letAsked
had
Mr. Resendiz
to thedisclosure
point.reports
In exFrieventh was the intended recipient.
Mr. Rodríguez
pre- if heFriev
ter on government
letterheadgot
on March
pared low
himself
under oath. The
reports,
9,
2004,
that
directly
contradicted
Ms.
thing
of
value
from
change
for
bringing
jobs
and
prices
The plot’s zoning Mr. Frieventh, the son of a shoe-store Gómez’s rulings. Citing the altered map, obtained by The Times, show that he
Mr
THE NEW YORK TIMES
sentative,
Mr. Freiv
to Teotihuacán,
Wal-Mart spent
wanted
$30,300someto begin building
a ranch
salary of he wrote
that Wal-Mart’s supermarket
designation, H500A,owner, earned a government
owne
on
a
hill
overlooking
the
pyramids.
He
indeed compatible
with the zoning
chuckled and exten
THE ALTERED MAP
thing
extraordinary.
It wanted
the counallowed only housesless than $30,000 in 2003. However mod- was
spent $1,800 more on a used Dodge pickless t
for Mrs. Pineda’s field.
after
thewas
Aug. 6 in
vote. the
A new midst
mayor, Gui-of
post of roughly a dozen employees in
lished, Wal-Mart de Mexico
did two
“Bring him to me s
up. He paid
cashconin both transactions.
cilFrieventh
members
Wal-Mart
start
est
his
pay,
he
Mr.
said heto
did let
not recall
to
be
built
there.
est h
llermo Rodríguez, was sworn in with a
very curious things: First, it began an
Toluca, the State of Mexico’s capital.
As
mayor,
Mr.
Rodríguez
was
paid
the
letter,
or
why
he
wrote
it.
But
WalThe
new
mapthat
would
Have
him bring it t
even though it did
nota have
allwife made
amassing
estate Martstruction
newimpressive
council on Aug. 17.real
In interviews,
expensive soil mechanics
study of Mrs. an
The office’s main
job was
to verify
$47,000
year. His
$23,000
amas
de Mexico immediately put the letMr. Rodríguez
and2004,
membersproperty
of the new
field, which portfolio.
it would laterFrom
local zoningnot
plansbecome
fit the state’s
more working
for the municipality.
His with the ri
lawdeveluntil Pineda’s
it
Even
the
permits.
it wanted
ter to
work.required
It began applying
for other And
2001 to
portf
council said they had no idea Wal-Mart
lease. Second, it submitted an applicaopment goals. It also handled the critspending spree in June nearly equaled
permits,
eachto
time
submitting
theand
letterthere,
still
needed
at
lea
was
published
in
a
them
do
it
then
in
private,
records
show,
bought
up most
of a as if it were a valid zoning certificate.
hadhe
its eye
on Mrs. Pineda’s
field when
tion to the Business Attention
Commisical final step — arranging publication
their entire pay for the first half of 2004.
recor
they
took
office.
sion,
a
state
agency
that
helps
developof completed plans in the state’s
official
Even
more
remarkable
was
what
permits
to
begin
without
public
hearings.
Wal-Mart
was
government
One
of its first applications
was to the
city
block
in
Toluca.
The
land
costs
ers get permits.
“They must have had to bribe somenewspaper, the Government’s Gazette.
city
happened six months later. Mr. Rodríthat regulates
roads. for Christmas
apply for them, M
a rush
to open
shopnewspaper. Wal-Mart The application andalone
body in order
to make theof
illegal
the soilwere
study nearly
65 percent
hislegal,”
gov- stateinagency
$1
amassing a
portfolio. Fr
records sho
city block
alone were n
ernment pay
Asked if
thing of val
sentative, M
chuckled an
THE ALTERED MAP
“Bring him
The new map would
Have him br
not become law until it
Even with
still needed
was published in a
permits to
government
apply for th
newspaper. Wal-Mart
had to get
de Mexico bribed an
verified tha
official to alter the
tent with the
map before it was sent
Zoning ce
off for publication.
Mr. Frieven
by the state
and Wal-Ma
Gómez, a ca
a stickler fo
Wal-Mart’s
again a few
Gómez said
Teotihuacán
rera would s
In the altered map,
forced feder
the land where
dead in the w
Wal-Mart wanted to
With help
build had its zoning
Cicero’s
tea
changed to E-T-M, a
Gómez, and
category that
no legal a
permitted a
Gómez. Bu
supermarket.
records sho
ter on gover
9, 2004, tha
Gómez’s rul
THE NEW YORK TIMES
he wrote th
was indeed
for Mrs. Pin
after the Aug. 6 vote. A new mayor, Guipost of roughly a dozen employees in
lished, Wal-Mart de Mexico did two
Mr. Friev
llermo Rodríguez, was sworn in with a
very curious things: First, it began an
Toluca, the State of Mexico’s capital.
the letter, o
new council on Aug. 17. In interviews,
expensive soil mechanics study of Mrs.
The office’s main job was to verify that
Mart de Me
Mr. Rodríguez and members of the new
Pineda’s field, which it would later
local zoning plans fit the state’s develter to work.
council
said though,
they had nofor
ideaa Wal-Mart
lease. Second, it submitted
an applicaopment
goals. It also handled the critmercial
use.”
6.
It
made
perfect
sense,
company
permits, eac
had
its
eye
on
Mrs.
Pineda’s
field
when
tion
to
the
Business
Attention
Commisical final step — arranging publication
as if it were
By
law, the
state
of Urban
thathelps
had
reasonthey
to took
believe
office. the map would be
sion, and
a stateReagency that
developof completed
plans
in theOffice
state’s official
One of its
ers get
permits.
muststrategically
have had to bribesituated
somenewspaper,
the Government’s
Gazette.zoning
gional
Planning
could not make
changes
published with a “They
single
state agency
body in order to make the illegal legal,”
The application and the soil study
There we
on maps it reviewed. If there were problems,
it a foolish
change.
Mr. Rodríguez said when he was shown
would have been
waste of time
fic regulator
An Altered Map
both
the
Aug.
20
map
and
the
map
apand
money,
assuming
the
soon-to-bewas supposed
to send the map back to the town
The Times found evidence of that changemit request
If the council’s vote seemingly
proved on Aug. 6.
published map matched what the Teotiof Teotihuac
for revisions.
Teotihuacán’s
plan, however,
was approved
on aoncomputer
storedhappened
in a shoe
dashed Wal-Mart’s
hopes for Teotihuahuacán council
Aug. 6. It disc
“Whatever
herebox
mustinside
be
a supermar
cán,
Wal-Mart
de
Mexico’s
executives
madeGovernperfect sense, the
though,
for a comexplained,”
Jesús Aguiluz,
a former
quickly approved and then sent to the
Office
of Urban
and Regional
Planning.
Thewould only
certainly acted as if they knew somepany that had reason to believe the map
high-ranking state official whose dothere was a
ment’s
Gazette
20.not.
created
a senior
the office,
thing
the rest ofon
theAug.
world did
would be published disc,
with a single
stra- bymain
included official
the Office in
of Urban
and
town had re
On Aug. 12, records
show,Gazette
they askeda few
tegically
situated
Regional Planning,zoning
said when
he was
It typically
took the
weeks
to change.
held a copy of Teotihuacán’s
map
as itplan to ease
Wal-Mart’s leadership in the United
shown both maps. Only one person, he
The Times found evidence of that
publish
a new
zoning
did on
it abeexisted
on inAug.
20, could
the day
it what
washappened
sent to—thefor building
States
to approve
theirplan.
plan toOnly
spendthen
said,
explain
change
computer
disc stored
a
Pineda’s alf
millioneven
on a Bodega
Aurrera
in
Víctor Manuel Frieventh, then the dishoe box inside
of Urban and Gazette.
comeabout
law.$8 But
before
Teotihuacán’s
mapthe Office
Government’s
According
Pineda’s field. The request was aprector of the urban planning office.
Regional Planning. The disc, created by
records, Mr
was Mrs.
published,
Wal-Mart
de real
Mexico
did
two
On
the
map,
the
zoning
on
Mrs.
Pineda’s
proved
by Wal-Mart’s
international
a senior official in the office, held a copy
“He was in charge totally,” Mr. Aguibribe for th
committee,
madeFirst,
up of 20
so
of an
Teotihuacán’s
as it
ex- changed
very estate
curious
things:
itorbegan
expen- zoning
fieldmap
had
been
to allow a commercialin less than
luz said.
top executives, including S. Robson
isted on Aug. 20, the day it was sent to
In interviews with The Times, people
approving i
sive soil
mechanics study of Mrs. Pineda’s
field,
center.
Walton, the company’s chairman.
the Government’s Gazette.
who worked in Mr. Frieventh’s office rewhich The
it would
laterapproval,
lease. Second,
“One
am sure
of parade
— thisof was
altered,”bypass road
committee’s
records it submitted
On the map, the zoning on
Mrs. thing
Pine- Icalled
a steady
favor-seekers
show, was contingent
obtaining “zonda’s fieldComhad been changed
to allow
a
— housing
developers,
wealthy
landan application
to theonBusiness
Attention
Alejandro
Heredia,
a partner
in the
consulting
A Helpful
ing for commercial use.”
commercial center.
owners, politically wired businessmen
mission,
a state
agency
developers
firm
zoning
map, Teotihuac
By law,
the state
Office of that
Urban helps
and
— allTeotihuacán’s
hoping Mr. Frieventh
would use
“One thing I am sure
of — that
this wascreated
alRegional Planning could not make zonhisshown
influencethat
to shape
zoning
plans to
tered,” Alejandro Heredia,
a partner
just finished
get permits.
said when
heinwas
Aug.
20 map.
favor their interests. Wal-Mart de Mexing changes on maps it reviewed. If
the consulting firm that created Teoti11, 2004, w
The
application
the soil
would
surgical
work,”
he
said,
ico, they
said, was
part
of theadding,
parade. “ItRodríguez,
there were
problems, itand
was supposed
to study
huacán’s
zoning map, said “It
whenwas
he was
that Aug.
theamap
back to
the town
revi-andshown
During
two-hour interview
with The toHe asked th
havesend
been
foolish
waste
of for
time
money,
as- 20 map.
would be quite a gift
to asomeone
who wanted
sions. Teotihuacán’s plan, however, was
Times, Mr. Frieventh jovially described
“It was surgical work,” he said, addaround and
suming
theapproved
soon-to-be-published
doa gift
something
quickly
and then sent to the map
how his predecessors had taken bribes
ing, matched
“It would be quite
to someone here.”
people from
Gazette on
Aug. 20. approved
shiftthat
zoning
boundaries.
But change
he inwho wanted
to do something
were given
whatGovernment’s
the Teotihuacán
council
on Aug.
Ithere.”
was a safetobet
a single
small
sisted he never met with anyone from
used to reco
It typically took the Gazette a few
It was a safe bet that a single small
Wal-Mart, and said he had nothing to do
video opera
weeks to publish a new zoning plan.
change would not be noticed by Teotiwith the change to Teotihuacán’s map.
tions, and th
huacán’s municipal council. Because of
Only then did it become law. But even
would not be noticed by Teotihuacán’s municipal council. Because of term limits, the entire
council left office after the Aug. 6 vote. A new
mayor, Guillermo Rodríguez, was sworn in with
a new council on Aug. 17. In interviews, Mr. Rodríguez and members of the new council said
they had no idea Wal-Mart had its eye on Mrs.
Pineda’s field when they took office.
“They must have had to bribe somebody in
order to make the illegal legal,” Mr. Rodríguez
said when he was shown both the Aug. 20 map
and the map approved on Aug. 6.
“Whatever happened here must be explained,” Jesús Aguiluz, a former high-ranking
state official whose domain included the Office
of Urban and Regional Planning, said when he
was shown both maps. Only one person, he said,
could explain what happened — Víctor Manuel
Frieventh, then the director of the urban planning office.
“He was in charge totally,” Mr. Aguiluz said.
In interviews with The Times, people who
worked in Mr. Frieventh’s office recalled a
steady parade of favor-seekers — housing developers, wealthy landowners, politically wired
businessmen — all hoping Mr. Frieventh would
use his influence to shape zoning plans to favor
their interests. Wal-Mart de Mexico, they said,
was part of the parade.
During a two-hour interview with The
Times, Mr. Frieventh jovially described how his
predecessors had taken bribes to shift zoning
boundaries. But he insisted he never met with
anyone from Wal-Mart, and said he had nothing
to do with the change to Teotihuacán’s map.
“It’s very strange,” he said, looking intently
at the altered map.
The formal order to publish Teotihuacán’s
new zoning plan was received by the Government’s Gazette on Sept. 11, 2003. The next day,
internal Wal-Mart de Mexico records show, Mr.
Cicero authorized five bribe payments totaling
$221,000. According to the internal records, the
bribes were for obtaining zoning changes to
build five supermarkets. One of the payments,
for $52,000, was for the Bodega Aurrera in Teotihuacán, Mr. Cicero said in an interview.
Wal-Mart de Mexico officials did not themselves pay bribes. Records and interviews show
that payoffs were made by outside lawyers,
trusted fixers dispatched by Mr. Cicero to deliver envelopes of cash without leaving any trace
of their existence. Wal-Mart de Mexico’s written policies said these fixers could be entrusted
with up to $280,000 to “expedite” a single permit. The bribe payments covered the payoffs
themselves, a commission for the fixer and taxes. For some permits, it was left to the fixers to
figure out who needed to be bribed. In this case,
Mr. Cicero said, Mr. Frieventh was the intended
recipient.
Mr. Frieventh, the son of a shoe-store owner, earned a government salary of less than
$30,000 in 2003. However modest his pay, he
was in the midst of amassing an impressive real
estate portfolio. From 2001 to 2004, property records show, he bought up most of a city block in
Toluca. The land costs alone were nearly 65 percent of his government pay during those years.
Asked if he had ever accepted anything
of value from a Wal-Mart representative, Mr.
Frieventh shook his head, chuckled and extended a hand, palm up. “Bring him to me so he can
pay me, no? Have him bring it to me.”
Even with the right zoning, Wal-Mart still
needed at least a dozen different permits to begin construction. But to apply for them, Mr. Cicero’s team first had to get a zoning certificate,
which verified that a plot’s zoning was consistent with the proposed development.
Zoning certificates did not come from Mr.
Frieventh’s office. They were issued by the state
Office of Urban Operations, and Wal-Mart’s request went to Lidia Gómez, a career civil servant
known as a stickler for rules. Ms. Gómez rejected Wal-Mart’s request. Wal-Mart tried again a
few months later, and again Ms. Gómez said no,
saying that even with Teotihuacán’s new map, a
Bodega Aurrera would still run afoul of a rarely
enforced federal guideline. Wal-Mart was dead
in the water.
With help from Mr. Frieventh, Mr. Cicero’s
team found a way around Ms. Gómez, and the
law. Mr. Frieventh had no legal authority to
overrule Ms. Gómez. But at Wal-Mart’s request,
records show, Mr. Frieventh wrote a letter on
government letterhead on March 9, 2004, that
directly contradicted Ms. Gómez’s rulings. Citing the altered map, he wrote that Wal-Mart’s
supermarket was indeed compatible with the
zoning for Mrs. Pineda’s field.
Mr. Frieventh said he did not recall the letter, or why he wrote it. But Wal-Mart de Mexico
immediately put the letter to work. It began ap-
plying for other permits, each time submitting
the letter as if it were a valid zoning certificate.
One of its first applications was to the state
agency that regulates roads.
There were obvious reasons for traffic regulators to balk at Wal-Mart’s permit request.
Traffic, of course, was one of Teotihuacán’s biggest headaches, and a supermarket at the main
entrance would only make matters worse. But
there was a far bigger complication. The town
had recently approved a long-term plan to ease
congestion. The plan called for building a bypass road through Mrs. Pineda’s alfalfa field.
According to internal Wal-Mart records, Mr.
Cicero authorized a $25,900 bribe for the permit,
which was issued in less than two weeks. The
paperwork approving it did not even mention
the bypass road.
A Helpful Mayor
Teotihuacán’s municipal council had just
finished its regular meeting on June 11, 2004,
when the mayor, Guillermo Rodríguez, made an
unusual request. He asked the council members
to stick around and meet privately with some
people from Wal-Mart. Instructions were given
to turn off the video camera used to record public meetings. But the video operator disregarded the instructions, and the camera continued
to roll.
“They are going to explain what they want
to do here,” the mayor told his colleagues.
To build in Mrs. Pineda’s field, Wal-Mart
now needed a construction license from Teotihuacán. Construction licenses were issued by
Hugo Hernández, the town’s director of urban
development. Yet Mr. Hernández had thus far
declined to give Wal-Mart a license because it
still lacked several approvals — an environmental permit, for example.
But Wal-Mart de Mexico had found a friend
in Mayor Rodríguez, who now, in private, explained to the council why it was essential to
act with speed and flexibility to help Wal-Mart
build, regardless of the inevitable opposition.
“They say that if we don’t solve this quickly,
they will leave,” he told the council members.
Wal-Mart, he revealed, had raised the possibility of a donation. “They asked me, ‘What are you
going to ask from us?’ I said, ‘Pay your taxes,
reach an agreement, help the community.’ ”
Then he summoned Wal-Mart’s team, led
by Jorge Resendiz, one of Mr. Cicero’s deputies.
Mr. Resendiz got to the point. In exchange
for bringing jobs and low prices to Teotihuacán,
Wal-Mart wanted something extraordinary. It
wanted the council members to let Wal-Mart
start construction even though it did not have
all the required permits. And it wanted them to
do it then and there, in private, without public
hearings. Wal-Mart was in a rush to open for
Christmas shopping. “Time is precious for us,”
he said. “If we don’t start this unit in the coming
days, we will have a delay.”
Mr. Rodríguez assured Mr. Resendiz that
the council would give its approval the next
week.
The mayor’s aggressive activism was out of
character. In interviews, former aides and colleagues described Mr. Rodríguez as “insecure,”
“easily manipulated” and “passive.” He was frequently absent during working hours. “My persistent thought was that I was disappointed by
him,” said Mr. Peña, the former mayor who had
been Mr. Rodríguez’s political mentor.
But according to Mr. Cicero, there was nothing accidental about Mr. Rodríguez’s enthusiasm. Wal-Mart de Mexico, he said, bribed Mr.
Rodríguez to secure his support and that of his
allies on the town council. The decision to bribe
Mr. Rodríguez, he said, was blessed by WalMart de Mexico’s leaders.
“I didn’t receive any money from Wal-Mart
— no money,” Mr. Rodríguez insisted during
two lengthy interviews with The Times.
But he struggled to explain why he began to
spend tens of thousands of dollars in June 2004,
the same month he emerged as Wal-Mart’s
champion.
The spending is described in financial disclosure reports Mr. Rodríguez prepared himself
under oath. The reports, obtained by The Times,
show that he spent $30,300 to begin building a
ranch on a hill overlooking the pyramids. He
spent $1,800 more on a used Dodge pickup. He
paid cash in both transactions.
As mayor, Mr. Rodríguez was paid $47,000
a year. His wife made $23,000 more working for
the municipality. His spending spree in June
nearly equaled their entire pay for the first half
of 2004.
Even more remarkable was what happened
six months later. Mr. Rodríguez swore in his disclosure reports that he had no savings as of Dec.
And yet in June 2004, three weeks afarchaeological survey, with grid lines
gists, said in an interview.
ter
Ms. Miró signed the permit, Mr. Reand exploration holes.
In interviews last week, top INAH ofFor any developer, a survey was
ficials acknowledged for the first time
risky.
significant
remains
dis31,If2004.
Yet on
Jan. were
1, 2005,
The mayor
for abeen
that Wal-Mart’s
plotpushed
had neither
covered,
it
could
kill
the
project,
or
at
surveyed
nor
liberated,
either
1984 or
he and his wife spent $47,700
vote, suggesting that all in
they
least force lengthy delays. Yet Mr.
any
other
time,
before
construction
in cash
onseen
improvements
to
were doing was indicating beGómez
had not
any sign of a surgan. They also made one other startling
vey,their
an oddranch,
thing since
a survey like
this
his reports
show.
general support
while
Waladmission.
The agency
has long
mainshould have
occupied
a
team
of
INAH
tained
no ancientupremains
were deBefore becoming mayor,
Mart rounded
its missing
researchers and laborers for a good six
stroyed
during
But VerónMr. This,
Rodríguez
been the
permits.
Heconstruction.
gave no indicamonths.
too, was ahad
red flag.
ica Ortega, INAH’s top archaeologist in
town
respontion that the
vote constituted
Mr.
Gómezcomptroller,
was concerned enough
to
Teotihuacán,
acknowledged
it was infollow
the
trucks
from
the
site
one
day.
sible for making sure mua final
approval.
deed
possible
ancient remains were deWhen
they dumped
their loads,
he could
stroyed
the excavation
before
nicipal
officials
completed
In during
interviews,
council
see fragments of pottery and other eviMr. Sabais halted construction.
their
financial
disclosure
members
said they viewed
dence
of ancient
remains. “I
didn’t need
“I am not able to affirm categorically
to scratch
the correctly.
ground to see
it,” in
he said
reports
Yet
the
Wal-Mart’s
proposal
through
that no soil went
out,” she said.
in an
interview.
The
work
shutdown
ordered
by Mr.
interviews, Mr. Rodríguez
the prism of lingering reIván Hernández noticed, too. He was
Sabais
did
not
last
long.
Four
days
later,
overarchaeologists
and over that
sentments toward their puboneclaimed
of five INAH
who
INAH allowed Wal-Mart to resume conamounts
helandreported
lic markets.
Residents
hadpredid the
surveys
to liberate
for construction.
The agency
did take one
struction
in the protected
zone. He
were “mistakes”
or “approxlong complained
about vencaution:
it began an extensive
survey,
knew every major project in town, but
digging
dozens
of
exploration
wells
imate figures” or “generaldors inflating prices and rignothing of this one.
alongside Wal-Mart’s crews.
ized.” were also calling INAH to
ging scales. They liked the
Residents
A POPULAR STORE
complain.
The
calls
went
to
Juan
Carlos
He tried to be precise,
way Wal-Mart challenged
Wal-Mart’s supermarket is easily
A Gathering Protest
Sabais,
agency’s top
Teotihe the
explained.
“Ilawyer
now insee
it
the old irritants of the Mexithe busiest store in town, catering
huacán. He would have been the one to
By now a loose protest movement
wasn’t
so.” paperwork and precan
shopping
experience
—had
review
the permit
mostly to working-class families.
had
begun
to form.
Its leaders all
did not
dispute
stores
that
do
not
list
pricpare the But
officialhe
liberation
letter
for this
deep roots here. Lorenzo Trujillo owned
plot.the
“We
didn’t spending
have a clue,”
he reproduce
stands
in the
market.
overall
pattern.
es; stores
with
no public
parking;
called. “People were saying this was
Emmanuel
D’Herrera,
a
teacher
and
From June 2004 to June 2005,sendiz
he acknowlstores with
musty display cases.
spoke about a payment
to INAH
Wal-Mart, and we didn’t know a thing.”
poet, had celebrated his son’s birth by
during his
private meetingThe
withvote
Teoti- was unanimous for Wal-Mart.
edged,
he a spent
$114,000
Mr.
Sabais led
party of “approximately”
INAH offitucking the boy’s umbilical cord in a
huacán’s council. “INAH itself is asking
cialsbuilding
to the siteand
to find
out what was
furnishing
hisgoranch,
all
in
cash.
crack atop
the Moon pyramid. Emma
Days
later,
construction
began.
us for a considerable contribution,” Mr.
ing on. They
passed
through
a
small
Ortega
was
a
spiritual healer who cared
Wal-Mart’s investigators would
ask Mr.
Resendiz
said. Cicrowd of angry residents. It was July 16,
for
patients
a
stone’s throw from the
Getting
the Guardians
“We had
are going
the By
contrihow much
Wal-Mart
de Mexico
paidto formalize
andcero
construction
was already
well unpyramid. “You feel that it’s part of you,
bution
Monday,” he added.
“But it
The appearance
heavy
excavation
equipbribe
mayor.
$114,000,
henext
said.
der to
way.
Therethe
were
severalAbout
large excaandof
you
are part
of it,” she said.
is a fact.”
vations, Teotihuacán’s
one as deep as 16 council
feet, records
Thefield
protesters
immediately
suspectment
in
Mrs.
Pineda’s
quickly
aroused
susmembers
met
again
Mr. Resendiz, who has been placed on
show. Workers claimed they had an
ed
something
“dirty”
had
taken
place,
around
The suspicions stemmed
on June 18, 2004, a week after Mr.
Rodríguezleavepicion
administrative
pending
Wal- town.
INAH permit, just not on site as the law
Ms. Ortega recalled. The first clue came
Mart’s
investigation,
declined
to comTeotihuacán’s
fraught
withprofirst introduced
them to
Wal-Mart.
It was
just from
required.
Mr. Sabais ordered
them
to
on Aug.
1, 2004,relationship
when she and other
ment.
Every
INAH
official
interviewed,
stopafter
construction.“The
crowd
started
test
leaders
met
with
Mayor
Rodríguez.
7 a.m. and Mr. Resendiz took a seat up the National Institute of Anthropology and HisMs. Miró’s chief architect,
clapping,”
said.7 on the agenda was including
now the
supermarket’s
walls were
tory, oraccepting
INAH, theByofficial
guardian
of Mexico’s
front.he
Item
Wal-Mart.
Carlos
Madrigal,
denied
By the time Mr. Sabais returned to his
being erected. They asked the mayor to
It was
theofficials
first and
of cultural treasures.show them the construction permit. The
money airing
from Wal-Mart.
office, senior
INAH
were only
call- public
But Mr. Sabais,
top law-of mayor,
Because
the pyramids,
The council
spent the agency’s
ing Wal-Mart’s
from Mexico plans.
City demanding
to members
nervous andINAH
evasive, (proadmitted
yer
in
Teotihuacán,
knew
nothing
about
know
why
he
had
halted
construction.
Wal-Mart
did
not
actually
have
one.
nounced EE-nah) is a major presence in Teoti15 minutes discussing one of the largest conofficial donations or personal gifts on
Only then, he said, did he discover that
“So we were like, ‘Why are they there
huacán. Its
is required to build anystruction projects in the town’sthemodern
his- construction.
day he stopped
All approval
he
Wal-Mart had somehow managed to get
working?’” Ms. Ortega said. They
inside the protected
archaeological
tory. without a survey, or a libera- knew was that he wasthing
being summoned
a permit
asked the mayor
to halt workzone.
and hold
to INAH’s
Mexico City.
tion letter.
The mayor
said of
heillewould
patrolhearings.
town looking
for signs
Mr. Rodríguez announced they
were headquarters
there Itsinofficials
Over several tense meetings, he reThis
bureaucratic
miracle,
Mr.
Cicero
think
about
it.
Two
days
later,
he
issued
to give a “favorable or unfavorable
opinion” gal construction, and it is not hard to find stories
called, his bosses confronted their emwould explain to Wal-Mart investigaWal-Mart a construction license.
aboutINAH
zealous
stopping
a homeowner
of
Wal-Mart’s
supermarket.
When
a
council
barrassing
predicament:
hadinspectors
tors and The Times, was made possible
He signed
it himself.
halted
construction
even
though
Wala fewthe
feet.
pointed
outCicero
thatdeWal-Mart had not from extending a kitchen
by member
another payoff.
As Mr.
In response,
protesters demandMart
had the the
required permit.
Yetalso
the well
scribed
senior INAH
officials written
had
ed known
his resignation
and filed
the first of
It was
that INAH
required
evenit,submitted
a formal
request,
agency had given Wal-Mart that permit
asked for an “official donation” of up to
several legal challenges. Then they
to beblockaded
done with
picks and shovels
mayor waved away the problem.without
“That’s
de- excavations
firsta conducting
a survey and
$45,000 and a “personal gift” of up to
the construction site.
to
minimize
damage
if
digging
uncovered
an-bells
tail
we
omitted,”
he
said.
liberating
the
land.
$36,000 in exchange for a permit.
As word of the blockade
spread,
Wal-Mart’s
permit
was
signed
by
Fearing
a
public
relations
debacle,
rang
from
a
chapel
in
Purificación,
Mr. Hernández, the town’s urban devel- cient ruins. So the sight of bulldozers and back- the
opment director, noted that Wal-Mart still did
not have several permits it needed before the
town could issue a construction license. He
urged the council to stick to the rules.
Mr. Resendiz objected, saying Wal-Mart
did not have time to spare.
hoes stood out, especially when a sign went up
announcing that a Bodega Aurrera was coming.
Why, residents asked, should Wal-Mart get special treatment?
Among those who noticed was Sergio Gómez, an archaeologist and researcher for INAH.
B
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ive
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and
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ica
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH HANER/THE NEW YORK TIMES
FOR AND AGAINST
Guillermo Rodríguez, top, outside his ranch, was the mayor of Teotihuacán when Wal-Mart built its supermarket there in 2004. Emma Ortega, above, a spiritual healer who cares for patients across the street from
the Pyramid of the Moon, shown in background, viewed Wal-Mart as a threat to Mexico’s cultural traditions.
B
ter
aw
new
ter
cri
lite
her
say
one
com
bec
B
tiv
uat
tra
—
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Mr. Gómez knew that before the agency issued
a permit, it first had to officially “liberate” the
plot by verifying that construction would not
destroy valuable archaeological remains. That
meant conducting a formal archaeological survey, with grid lines and exploration holes.
For any developer, a survey was risky. If
significant remains were discovered, it could
kill the project, or at least force lengthy delays.
Yet Mr. Gómez had not seen any sign of a survey, an odd thing since a survey like this should
have occupied a team of INAH researchers and
laborers for a good six months. This, too, was a
red flag.
Mr. Gómez was concerned enough to follow trucks from the site one day. When they
dumped their loads, he could see fragments of
pottery and other evidence of ancient remains.
“I didn’t need to scratch the ground to see it,” he
said in an interview.
Iván Hernández noticed, too. He was one
of five INAH archaeologists who did surveys to
liberate land for construction in the protected
zone. He knew every major project in town, but
nothing of this one.
Residents were also calling INAH to complain. The calls went to Juan Carlos Sabais, the
agency’s top lawyer in Teotihuacán. He would
have been the one to review the permit paperwork and prepare the official liberation letter
for this plot. “We didn’t have a clue,” he recalled.
“People were saying this was Wal-Mart, and we
didn’t know a thing.”
Mr. Sabais led a party of INAH officials to
the site to find out what was going on. They
passed through a small crowd of angry residents. It was July 16, and construction was already well under way. There were several large
excavations, one as deep as 16 feet, records
show. Workers claimed they had an INAH permit, just not on site as the law required. Mr. Sabais ordered them to stop construction.“The
crowd started clapping,” he said.
By the time Mr. Sabais returned to his office, senior INAH officials were calling from
Mexico City demanding to know why he had
halted construction. Only then, he said, did he
discover that Wal-Mart had somehow managed
to get a permit without a survey, or a liberation
letter.
This bureaucratic miracle, Mr. Cicero would
explain to Wal-Mart investigators and The
Times, was made possible by another payoff.
As Mr. Cicero described it, senior INAH officials had asked for an “official donation” of up
to $45,000 and a “personal gift” of up to $36,000
in exchange for a permit.
Wal-Mart’s permit was signed by Mirabel
Miró, then the agency’s top official in the State
of Mexico. According to Ms. Miró, it was WalMart de Mexico that made an improper offer
of money. Her chief architect, she said, told her
that Wal-Mart had approached him with an offer of a sizable “donation.” He wanted to accept,
she said.
“I told him, ‘I don’t want a dime, not as a
donation, not as anything, because it may be interpreted as something else,’ ” she said.
Sergio Raúl Arroyo, the director general of
INAH, recalled in an interview that Ms. Miró
had told him about Wal-Mart’s offer. He could
not recall any other instance of a company offering a donation while it was seeking a permit.
“That would have been totally irregular,” he
said. “It was obvious we had to be very careful
with these people.”
“I told Miró to accept no donations,” he added. “Not even a pair of scissors.”
And yet in June 2004, three weeks after Ms.
Miró signed the permit, Mr. Resendiz spoke
about a payment to INAH during his private
meeting with Teotihuacán’s council. “INAH
itself is asking us for a considerable contribution,” Mr. Resendiz said.
“We are going to formalize the contribution
next Monday,” he added. “But it is a fact.”
Mr. Resendiz, who has been placed on administrative leave pending Wal-Mart’s investigation, declined to comment. Every INAH
official interviewed, including Ms. Miró’s chief
architect, Carlos Madrigal, denied accepting
money from Wal-Mart.
But Mr. Sabais, the agency’s top lawyer in
Teotihuacán, knew nothing about official donations or personal gifts on the day he stopped
construction. All he knew was that he was being
summoned to INAH’s headquarters in Mexico
City. Over several tense meetings, he recalled,
his bosses confronted their embarrassing predicament: INAH had halted construction even
though Wal-Mart had the required permit. Yet
the agency had given Wal-Mart that permit
without first conducting a survey and liberating
the land.
Fearing a public relations debacle, senior
INAH officials concocted a trail of backdated
documents to hide its blunders, Mr. Sabais said.
He pointed to an INAH report dated April 2,
2004, seven weeks before the agency issued its
permit. The report suggested Wal-Mart’s plot
had been liberated after a 1984 survey. “This
document,” Mr. Sabais said, “was made later to
justify what had not been done.”
INAH officials would later tell multiple
government inquiries that Wal-Mart’s plot had
been liberated because of this 1984 survey.
The Times tracked down the 1984 survey. It
had nothing to do with the land where Wal-Mart
was building. The survey was done on a different plot several hundred yards away. The archaeologists who supervised and evaluated the
survey were appalled to learn that it had been
used to justify INAH’s permit for Wal-Mart.
“This is a fraud,” Ana María Jarquín, one of the
archaeologists, said in an interview.
In interviews last week, top INAH officials
acknowledged for the first time that Wal-Mart’s
plot had neither been surveyed nor liberated, either in 1984 or any other time, before construction began. They also made one other startling
admission. The agency has long maintained no
ancient remains were destroyed during construction. But Verónica Ortega, INAH’s top
archaeologist in Teotihuacán, acknowledged it
was indeed possible ancient remains were destroyed during the excavation before Mr. Sabais
halted construction.
“I am not able to affirm categorically that
no soil went out,” she said.
The work shutdown ordered by Mr. Sabais
did not last long. Four days later, INAH allowed
Wal-Mart to resume construction. The agency
did take one precaution: it began an extensive
survey, digging dozens of exploration wells
alongside Wal-Mart’s crews.
A Gathering Protest
By now a loose protest movement had begun to form. Its leaders all had deep roots here.
Lorenzo Trujillo owned produce stands in the
public market. Emmanuel D’Herrera, a teacher
and poet, had celebrated his son’s birth by tucking the boy’s umbilical cord in a crack atop the
Moon pyramid. Emma Ortega was a spiritual
healer who cared for patients a stone’s throw
from the pyramid. “You feel that it’s part of you,
and you are part of it,” she said.
The protesters immediately suspected
something “dirty” had taken place, Ms. Ortega
recalled. The first clue came on Aug. 1, 2004,
when she and other protest leaders met with
Mayor Rodríguez. By now the supermarket’s
walls were being erected. They asked the mayor
to show them the construction permit. The mayor, nervous and evasive, admitted Wal-Mart did
not actually have one.
“So we were like, ‘Why are they there working?’ ” Ms. Ortega said. They asked the mayor
to halt work and hold hearings. The mayor said
he would think about it. Two days later, he issued Wal-Mart a construction license.
He signed it himself.
In response, the protesters demanded his
resignation and filed the first of several legal
challenges. Then they blockaded the construction site.
As word of the blockade spread, bells rang
from a chapel in Purificación, the neighborhood
where Wal-Mart was building. It was the alarm
used to summon neighbors in an emergency.
Residents marched toward the blockade.
“We thought they were there to support
us,” Ms. Ortega recalled. “No. They were there
to attack us.” The crowd descended on the small
band of protesters, pushing and yelling insults
until the blockade was broken.
What Ms. Ortega did not know was that WalMart had already bought the support of Purificación’s neighborhood leaders. In interviews,
several of those leaders recalled being invited
to Mr. Rodríguez’s office to meet with the company’s representatives. The Wal-Mart people,
the leaders said, offered money to expand their
cemetery, pave a road and build a handball
court. They offered paint and computers for Purificación’s school. They offered money to build
a new office for the neighborhood leaders.
But the money came with strings: if there
were any protests, they were expected to be visibly and loudly supportive of Wal-Mart.
Protest leaders began to get anonymous
phone calls urging them to back off. In news
conferences, the mayor dismissed them as a
tiny minority of gadflies and self-interested local merchants. He insisted the town overwhelmingly favored Wal-Mart’s arrival, and as proof
of his incorruptibility, he boasted of how he had
rejected Wal-Mart de Mexico’s offer of a $55,000
donation to the municipal treasury.
But the tide turned as INAH’s archaeologists began to find evidence that Wal-Mart was
building on ancient ruins after all. They found
the remains of a wall dating to approximately
1300 and enough clay pottery to fill several
sacks. Then they found an altar, a plaza and nine
graves. Once again, construction was temporarily halted so their findings could be cataloged,
photographed and analyzed. The discoveries
instantly transformed the skirmish over Mrs.
Pineda’s field into national news.
Student groups, unions and peasant leaders soon joined the protests. Opponents of other
Wal-Marts in Mexico offered support. Influential politicians began to express concern.
Prominent artists and intellectuals signed an
open letter asking Mexico’s president to stop
the project. Many were cultural traditionalists,
united by a fear that Wal-Mart was inexorably
drawing Mexico’s people away from the intimacy of neighborhood life, toward a bland, impersonal “gringo lifestyle” of frozen pizzas, video
games and credit card debt.
The support emboldened the protesters.
When the mayor held a news conference, they
interrupted and openly accused him of taking
bribes. They blockaded INAH’s headquarters
and marched on Wal-Mart de Mexico’s corporate offices in Mexico City. “All we have found
are closed doors and an ocean of corruption
around the authorizations for this Wal-Mart,” Mr.
D’Herrera told reporters with typical flourish.
Their allegations of corruption seeped into
the news coverage in Mexico and the United
States. In September 2004, an article in The
Times included this passage: “How Wal-Mart
got permission to build a superstore on farmland supposedly protected under Mexican law
as an archaeological site has vexed the merchants here, who freely accuse the town, the
state and the federal Institute of Anthropology
and History of corruption.”
Open for Business
Back in Bentonville, Wal-Mart’s international real estate committee was aware of the
growing attention from the news media, former
members said in interviews. Some committee
members cringed at the ugly optics of Wal-Mart
literally bulldozing Mexico’s cultural heritage.
“I kept waiting for someone to say, ‘Let’s just
move sites,’ ” recalled one member, who, like
others on the committee, asked not to be identified because of the continuing inquiry.
But top Wal-Mart de Mexico executives assured the committee that the situation was under control. They portrayed the protesters as
a fringe group — “like they were from Occupy
Wall Street,” another person recalled.
Despite multiple news accounts of possible
bribes, Wal-Mart’s leaders in the United States
took no steps to investigate Wal-Mart de Mexico, records and interviews show.
Mr. Tovar, the Wal-Mart spokesman, said
that while executives in the United States were
aware of the furor in Teotihuacán they did not
know about the corruption allegations. “None
of the associates we have interviewed, including people responsible for real estate projects in
Mexico during this time period, recall any mention of bribery allegations related to this store,”
he said.
In Mexico, government officials were looking for a way to quell the controversy. Mr. Arroyo, INAH’s director general, urged Wal-Mart
de Mexico to build elsewhere. The state’s urban
development ministry quietly searched for alternate sites outside the archaeological zone.
Then, on Oct. 2, Mexico’s newspapers reported
a major announcement: Arturo Montiel, the
state’s governor, was looking for another site
“that is better for all.”
With its supermarket more than half built,
Wal-Mart de Mexico was not eager to accommodate the governor. The company raced to
complete construction and mounted a public relations offensive. Executives argued that WalMart de Mexico had scrupulously fulfilled every legal requirement: the zoning was correct,
as confirmed by the map in the Government’s
Gazette; necessary approvals had been duly obtained from INAH, traffic authorities and other
agencies; the mayor himself had signed the
construction license.
Not even a week after Mr. Montiel’s announcement, his top deputy told reporters there
was, alas, no way to stop Wal-Mart. “We would
be violating the law since they can tell us they
complied with all that is required,” he explained.
The supermarket opened on Nov. 4, 2004. A
year later, Mr. Cicero met with Wal-Mart’s lawyers and told his story for the first time. His allegations were shared with several of the same
executives who were on the international real
estate committee, records show. If the protesters’ vague allegations of corruption had been
easy to dismiss, now they were coming from the
person responsible for obtaining Wal-Mart de
Mexico’s permits in Teotihuacán.
More important, Mr. Cicero’s allegations
emerged as a comptroller for the State of Mexico was wrapping up a lengthy investigation into
whether officials had acted unlawfully in granting permits to Wal-Mart de Mexico.
But Wal-Mart did not share Mr. Cicero’s allegations with any authorities in Mexico. “This
is one of the areas we are reviewing as part of
our ongoing investigation,” Mr. Tovar said.
When the comptroller’s office subsequently
announced it had found no wrongdoing, it chided protesters for failing to present any specific
proof.
The comptroller had been the protesters’
last hope. Most moved on, resigned to the idea
that their struggle had been for nothing. But not
Mr. D’Herrera. He continued to visit government archives, seeking access to Wal-Mart’s
permit records. He kept appealing to public officials for help. “I shall continue my hunger strike
until Wal-Mart leaves or until I die,” he wrote
in a letter to Vicente Fox, Mexico’s president at
the time.
Despite the passage of time, Mr. D’Herrera
never wavered in his conviction that Wal-Mart
must have paid bribes. He was appalled by the
store’s impact on Teotihuacán, and infuriated
that so few seemed to care. It did not go unnoticed when protest leaders were spotted shopJosh Haner and James C. McKinley Jr.
contributed reporting.
ping contentedly in the Bodega Aurrera, where
people can buy everything from tortillas to tires,
almost always at a substantial discount from local shops.
Friends and relatives urged Mr. D’Herrera
to let it go, but he refused. “He became obsessed,” Ms. Ortega said. Mr. D’Herrera finally
snapped. On May 16, 2009, he entered the Bodega Aurrera and placed a crude homemade bomb
in a shopping cart. According to prosecutors,
the bomb consisted of a small juice can containing gunpowder and nails. Mr. D’Herrera pushed
the cart into the store’s home section, looked
around to make sure the aisle was empty, and
then lit a fuse poking from the can. His intent, he
later wrote, was to kill himself and damage the
store to draw public attention back to Wal-Mart.
But all the blast did was knock him down and
damage $68 worth of merchandise.
As he awaited trial from a prison cell, he
continued his hopeless campaign. He wrote
more letters to politicians. He asked his wife to
publish his diatribes against Wal-Mart on an obscure poetry blog. Yet he clearly recognized the
precariousness of his circumstances. He was
thin and severely diabetic. His teeth were falling out. In early 2010, he asked a cellmate to deliver a letter to his wife in case he died in prison.
A few months later, he had a brain hemorrhage
and slipped into a coma. Death quickly followed.
He was 62.
In his final letter to his wife, Mr. D’Herrera
tried to explain why he had battled so long at
such grievous cost.
“I am not leaving material patrimony for
you and our son,” he wrote. “I’m leaving you a
moral and political legacy, dying as I am for a
n
cause, in defense of the Mexican culture.”

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