PHILIPPINES: Enron-Anderson

The Enron scandal is leading people all around the world to look for similar scandals among their own capitalists, with the usual involvement of politicians. These scandals are as complicated as the Enron deal, which is hard for even Americans to follow. There is therefore little point in giving details of these scandals in other countries. Here is the opening section if an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, sent by Bienvenido Macario:

"'Fishy resignation'

For weeks, top officials of the Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp. (RCBC) tried to dodge public daggers for their participation in the 35-billion peso poverty bonds (now being dubbed as the "Fish bonds" deal because of the way it smells to some).

That is, until last week when RCBC called for a press conference and only after Senator John Osmena started shouting plunder against Finance secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, RCBC and Code-NGO headed by Camacho's sister. Camacho is also a Harvard graduate".

My question: It sounds as though several Harvard graduates are involved. This raises a serious question. In my student days, universities were supposed to provide a liberal education and to produce a well-read man. Those expressions now seem quaint. Universities are full of students majoring in economics or working for an MBA, a magical title which it is hoped will lead to a well-paid job.

What happens in the US is our concern, but there are international implications. Foreign students are coming in droves to this country to work for MBAs for the same reason. They expect to joint the financial elite, and less developed countries thought that they and US-trained economists would bring prosperity. Then disillusionment set in. Take the case of Mexico. What happened there is in a replay of the disillusionment with the científicos of Porfirio Díaz. Beginning with President Miguel de la Madrid, US-trained economists began to play an important role in the Mexican government, and this trend continued under Carlos Salinas de Gortari, whose presidency ended in a morass of corruption.

The cult of US-trained economists and MBAs is part of what Mexicans call "the American dream", which leads Mexicans to risk their lives in attempts to get into the promised land. Until last year, US institutions welcomed this influx of foreign students, but since September 11 they have been harassed, sometimes with, sometimes without reason. This whole question of foreign students in the US should be followed with care. Perhaps some Mexican WAISers will have comments. Mexico is just one of the many countries where this issue arises, as the Philippine scandal shows.

Ronald Hilton - 2/19/02