Part 2, Section 2, "Librado Ibarra" Summary

Ixca goes to speak with Robles' business associate, Librado Ibarra. Ibarra has known Robles since they were young, and he claims that both of them had the same paths open to them after the revolution. Ibarra devoted himself to the revolutions ideals; labor reform, land reform, and education. He specialized in labor law, and worked as a school inspector, and as a civil servant. Eventually he found that the entire system was corrupt and that his efforts made little difference, while meanwhile Robles and his risky speculation was earning millions.

Ibarra grew tired of his bland middle class life, in which he performed the same meaningless routine repeatedly. "Every day the same useless work, the same us with the same wooden seats, the same little room, the same goddamn nothing to do after work except...