In an effort to curb police corruption, the enlightened mayor of Ecatepec, a city of 2.5 million people just north of Mexico City, has eliminated all traffic and parking fines. So many police had been shaking down motorists for bribes that the mayor decided to abolish tickets, reasoning that if police couldn’t threaten people with fines, they would have no excuse to demand a payoff. Time will tell if this creative approach to solve an age-old problem will spread to the capital and other cities.
