海角大神

鈥淟adies and gentlemen鈥� no longer means damas y caballeros in Mexico. At least not when preceded by a hash tag.

This year has seen politicians and the rich dubbed 鈥渓adies鈥� or 鈥済entlemen鈥� for behavior that would classify them as anything but. From #LadyProfeco 鈥撀爐he woman who had a trendy Mexico City restaurant temporarily shuttered after she was denied a table 鈥撀爐o the #GentlemanDeIxtapaluca, a public servant whose drunken tirade against the police was caught on video this week: Mexicans are catching their public servants misbehaving and getting the word out via social networks and traditional media.

It鈥檚 a recourse for public shaming that carries on a long Mexican tradition of poking fun of the powerful, say observers. And in the face of pervasive impunity, the airing of politicians鈥� less than ladylike or gentlemanly behavior is having modest results. In a country where legal avenues for fighting abuses of power often fall short it聽is knocking the powerful down a notch or two.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 a cultural question,鈥� says Hector Castillo Berthier, who directs the youth division of the Institute for Social Research at the National Autonomous University. 鈥淲e opt for mockery, for the snub, for contempt. What鈥檚 at the bottom of it? Social inequality.鈥� A recent study by the national statistics agency divides Mexicans into three classes: 59 percent fall into the lower category, 39 percent in the middle, and just 1.7 percent in upper class.聽

He notes that one of Mexico鈥檚 most iconic images 鈥� the skeletal catrina with a wide-brimmed hat covered in flowers that聽has come to symbolize the Day of the Dead 鈥� was originally created by Jos茅 Guadalupe Posada to make fun of the upper class during the regime of Porfirio D铆az in the late 19th century.

Another kind of protest

This week, Brazilians have taken to the streets by the hundreds of thousands in protest of what started as a small bus fare hike but has erupted into mass anger about the poor quality of public services and high taxes 鈥� complaints that a rising middle class, in a country still plagued by inequality, feels empowered to make. Such frustrations aren鈥檛 unfamiliar to Mexicans.

A growing Mexican middle class has become less willing to tolerate abuses by the rich or lawmakers who believe they are above the law, says Helena Varela Guinot, director of the Universidad Iberoamericana department of social sciences and politics. And an expanding civil society is demanding greater accountability from government officials.

The shaming in the media and on social networks of politicians who behave badly 鈥渉elps to control the out-of-control ambition of the political class,鈥� Ms. Varela Guinot says, but 鈥渇or accountability to be truly viable, it鈥檚 not enough to expose them. Legal consequences depend on rule of law. Unfortunately, we don鈥檛 have that in Mexico.鈥�

When Andrea Ben铆tez was denied the table she wanted at a popular bistro in April, she pulled strings at the consumer protection agency known as Profeco, which is led by her father. She threatened the owner and, within hours, Profeco inspectors shut down the place. The scandal that erupted grew until President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto abruptly fired her father, Humberto Ben铆tez, from his post.

Ms. Ben铆tez may be the most notorious Mexican 鈥渓ady,鈥� but many others have emerged. Senator Luz Mar铆a Beristain 鈥撀犫�淟ady Senadora鈥� 鈥撀爉ade a ruckus when she arrived late for a flight and the airline refused to check her in. The video of her insulting an employee went viral. After the incident, the airline promptly launched a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign announcing low fares for 鈥�Damas y Caballeros (and not ladies and gentlemen, which is not the same)."

The 鈥済entlemen鈥� have fared no better. The 鈥淕entleman of Ixtapaluca,鈥� Francisco Javier Romo, resigned from the conservative National Action Party to which he belonged after the embarrassing video of him swearing at a police officer emerged this month. However, he didn鈥檛 resign his post as a local councilman in a town in Mexico state.

鈥淚n the political class, the recovery [from public shame] is usually rapid,鈥� says Varela Guinot. 鈥淲e鈥檒l soon have them back on the political scene as if nothing had ever happened.鈥�