Confessions of an Economic Hitman #4

In this section of the book, it seems as though John Perkins has finally made up his mind about his actions, and chooses to take the path of greed. His greed only develops more when his job takes him to the oil capital of the world, Saudi Arabia. When the opportunity to exploit the Saudis for great amounts of money arises, he has no problem doing so. What is interesting is the fact that his lust for money is just a reflection of the corruption of more powerful people. The U.S. Department of Treasury actually asks for MAIN's (Perkins' company) help in getting what they want out Saudi Arabia, and like John tells us when he says, "MAIN was rewarded with one of the first major--and extremely profitable--contracts in Saudi Arabia, and I received a large bonus that year," (96) the U.S. government was more than happy to repay the favor. Even governments can be corrupted if enough money is there to persuade them. It wasn't only the United States government that was being corrupted, as there were individuals in Saudi Arabia who were assissting MAIN exploit the country from inside. An influencial man called Prince W. is willing to help Perkins in his endeavor as long as he keeps him happy. He is quite easily corrupted as Perkins tells us that all he expected was, "to be entertained by a woman of his liking, and that he expected her to perform more functions than those of a simple escort,"(107). Even high ranking officials in the goverment lack ethics, and this makes you wonder whether or not corruption like that exists in the government today.

However, that seems to be the opposite in Panama with President Torrijos. He truly seems to want to help his country and will go to great lengths to do so. John Perkins tells us that Torrijos, when referring to the Panama Canal, says, "It's a good time to launch an all-out political battle to win it back,"(119). The canal is an extremely important tool for American businesses and allows them to keep control of Latin America. Torrijos' dedication to get it back in Panamanian hands will make him many enemies and place him in great danger. Perkins, knowing much about what can happen to those who defy the wishes of big corporations says, "I could not help but wonder if the jackals had begun to circle Torrijos,"(121). When he says jackals he is referring to assassins, people who will kill Torrijos if he does not back down. Not only is the president of Panama not corrupted by money, but he also will not back down if his life is on the line