I constantly heard tales of how employees, both in private and in public positions, hospital workers, shop keepers and bank clerks skimmed off money here and there. Indeed, the talk of corruption (Gupta 1995) was so widespread that I realized that not only was corruption a key tale about the state as such, but also a key tale about society. вЂњThis is a part of the revolution as well вЂ¦ politics вЂ¦ but people shouldnвЂ™t do dirty politics. вЂњWell what can you do,вЂќ he responded and shrugged. вЂњWe made paper kites with the kids and went over to the football camp to fly them вЂ¦ the kids still come to me and say Alfredo, Alfredo, when will we make paper kites again!!вЂќ вЂњI am really sorry about all this, I know how dedicated you were,вЂќ I said, and I really meant it. He pointed to some of the other people who appeared in the photos with him: вЂњShe got a house, and she got a house, and she got a house over in the Zona Central.вЂќ Another photo showed several kids sitting in the street outside AlfredoвЂ™s apartment making paper kites. Several photos were photocopied onto an A4 sheet, showing him at the meeting for a larger housing project that was implemented in the area. One after one, he placed them in front of me, explaining each one of them. They donвЂ™t want to get involved.вЂќ He got up and found another one of his folders, with photos of the different events and projects they had carried out. вЂњThey know what work you have done.вЂќ вЂњAhh you know what people are like,вЂќ he responded. вЂњBut doesnвЂ™t the community care?вЂќ I asked. вЂњPeople say that I should take up the fight, but I wonвЂ™t вЂ¦ Petra and Maria and the others feel intimidated (they were some of his allies in the community), and they have kids in the street.вЂќ Moreover, they were charging for writing out constancias de residencia (proof of residence) even if this was supposed to be free. I have seen them here, visiting, and I ask myself what they are doing here вЂ¦ they are signing checks and papers and vaina (stuff).вЂќ And the copying machine and other items that the communal council had acquired for the common use of the community were long gone quite convenient since the woman who headed the campaign against him, and now had a central position in the communal council, owned a local copying shop where they charged five bolivares per copy. Moreover, they were skimming off money, Alfredo maintained: вЂњAnd they couldnвЂ™t have done that without accomplices in the Alcaldia and Fundacomunal. Now, the others had taken over the communal council and carried out projects that he had been in charge of and raising money for, passing it off as their own work. Eventually he couldnвЂ™t take it anymore, and resigned. The letter was stamped with the communal councilвЂ™s seal.ДЄfter that, they had then made life difficult for him and smeared his name in the community. The letter stated that he resigned because of the campaign against his good name and honor, and the untruthful accusations against him and his work as the financial spokesperson. It was signed on June 6, 2011, two weeks after I last saw him. He got up and found his resignation letter for me to read. They had also claimed that he hadnвЂ™t done any work in the communal council, which also was a lie, and the evidence was there for everyone to see-the work was visible there in the community, stairways, several new houses built and others reconstructed, and above all a huge project of drainage and reconstruction of a hillside on the outer slope of the community that put the houses on its edge at risk for landside. The other faction had smeared him, spreading rumors in the community that he was corrupt and that he hadnвЂ™t done the rendiciГіn de cuenta (present the balance sheets) to the community, even if that was a lie.

After a while he told me that he had resigned from his position as financial spokesperson. We started to chat, and I soon noticed that something was wrong.

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