PAGES ATTACHED TO THE FIRST SKETCHBOOK

I keep leafing through the Yearly Reports, while I wait to be allowed to see more interesting documents.

Personal characteristics of criminals apprehended in 1943:

Between 21 and 30 years old: 36%

Single: 81%

Males: 82%

Workers: 28%

Mestizo: 11%

Suicides:

Between 21 and 30 years old: 36%

Single: 70%

Workers: 23%

Mestizo: 96%

I find an entry in Google under the name of Tun. According to an article titled “The Smell of Blood,” by Alfredo Sagastume, Benedicto Tun was also a “bloodhound auditor” during Ubico’s dictatorship and had orders to punish public treasurers who were either over or under in their balances. (Obviously a confusion of names: during Ubico’s era, there was a public accountant named Aquilino Tun, who drafted a proposal for new income tax legislation.) Sagastume also tells us that whenever someone was accused of being a criminal, Ubico’s personal motto was: “Execute him. We’ll find out later.”

Possible expressions:

Historical sadism. Sadistic realism.