Bello | The Luis Suarez of international finance

摘要

It hardly came as a shock that Luis Suarez, a gifted but psychologically flawed Uruguayan striker, expressed his frustration at failing to score against Italy in a World Cup match on June 24th by biting an opponent. After all, he had done so twice before. More surprising was the reaction of Uruguay's authorities, both footballing and political. First came denial and conspiracy theory: the bite marks were photoshopped, or an old wound. Then came outrage at the stiff ban imposed on Mr Suarez, who was welcomed home as a wronged hero. His action was no more than a childish prank, claimed Jose Mujica, Uruguay's president. In colluding with Mr Suarez's violation of the laws of football, the often sensible Mr Mujica was indulging in a practice that is far more common across the River Plate in Argentina than it is in law-abiding Uruguay: the exercise of a kind of teenage narcissism in which it is fine to break rules you don't like, in the belief that you will get away with it. And if you don't, well, it's unfair because the world is against you. There is an Argentine term that captures at least part of this mindset: viveza criolla, or "native cunning".