In the 1940s, a small Mexican town has seen its last three mayors assassinated in rapid succession. A naive janitor is recruited to become the new mayor, and he believes he will modernize the little town and usher in a reign of peace. But the system corrupts him very quickly, and he takes to abusing his power while associating with an unscrupulous assortment of opportunists, hypocrites and criminals.
Acting
Alcázar's transformation from meek to monstrous.
Writing
Estrada's scalpel-sharp political allegory.
Direction
Banned by three Mexican state governments—art as threat.
Director
Luis Estrada
Damián Alcázar
Juan Vargas
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
López
Isela Vega
Doña Lupe
Salvador Sánchez
Pek
Juan Carlos Colombo
Ramírez
Delia Casanova
Rosa
Leticia Huijara
Gloria
Alex Cox
Gringo
Guillermo Gil
Cura
Eduardo López Rojas
Doctor
Ernesto Gómez Cruz
Gobernador
Miguel Ángel Fuentes
Pancho
Luis de Icaza
Alcalde Alfredo García
Manuel Ojeda
Cantinero
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Banned in multiple Mexican states upon release, the PRI government allegedly pressured theaters to drop it—proving its point about systemic corruption.
Estrada modeled Juan's arc on real PRI politicians, with the director calling it 'the biography of every Mexican president.' The film's title references a cynical political axiom: 'He who steals a little goes to jail, he who steals a lot becomes a congressman.'
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