Conversation in the Cathedral

by Mario Vargas Llosa

  “I’ve been organizing them for years.” He yawned. “Give me the money and I can organize the same demonstrations for you. No, the only popular thing here is APRA. If they’re offered a little something, the Apristas would be willing to come to terms with the government.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Paredes asked.

  “APRA’s changed, it’s more anti-Communist than you are, and the United States has lifted its veto of it,” he said. “With the APRA masses, the machinery of the state and the sectors of the wealthy classes loyal to him, Odría could get himself reelected.”

  “You’re out of your mind,” Paredes said. “Odría and APRA together? Please, Cayo.”

  “The Aprista leaders are old and they come cheap,” he said. “They’d accept anything in exchange for legal status and a few crumbs.”

  “The armed forces would never accept any agreement with APRA,” Paredes said.

  “Because the right wing educated them that way, making them think it was the enemy,” he said. “But they can be reeducated and made to see that APRA has changed. The Apristas will give the military all the guarantees they want.”

  “Instead of going to meet Landa at the airport, you should go see a psychiatrist,” Paredes said. “These last few days without sleep haven’t been good for you, Cayo.”

  “Well, then, some fat cat will take over the presidency in 1956,” he said, yawning. “And you and I will go and have a nice rest from all this hustle-bustle. And, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not such a bad idea. I don’t know why we’re talking about this. Political matters don’t concern us. Your uncle’s got his advisers. You and I have got our own business. By the way, what time is it?”

  “You’ve got plenty of time,” Paredes said. “I’m going to go get some sleep. I’m done in with all the tension of the past two days. And tonight, if my body’s up to it, I’m going to unwind with a bender. You don’t feel like one, do you?”

  “No, Don Cayo, he’s been asleep all the way from Chaclacayo, just the way you see him,” Ludovico said, pointing to Hipólito. “You’ll have to excuse me for driving so slow, but the fact is I’m falling asleep sitting up and I don’t want to have an accident. We’ll make the airport by eleven, don’t worry.”

  “The plane will be here within ten minutes, Don Cayo,” Lozano said with a hoarse, thin voice. “I brought two patrol cars and a few men. Since he’s coming in on a commercial flight, I didn’t know what the circumstances …”

  “Landa’s not under arrest,” he said. “I’ll meet him alone and take him to his house. I don’t want the senator to see this display of police, take your men away. Is everything else in order?”

  “All the arrests were made without incident,” Lozano said, rubbing his unshaven face, yawning. “The only thing was a bit of trouble in Arequipa. Dr. Velarde, that big Aprista. Someone got word to him and he got away. He’s probably trying to get to Bolivia. The border’s been notified.”

  “Fine, you can go, Lozano,” he said. “Look at Ludovico and Hipólito. Snoring again.”

  “The pair of them have put in for a transfer, Don Cayo,” Lozano said. “You tell me why.”

  “I’m not surprised, they’ve already had enough bad nights to last anyone a long time.” He smiled. “It’s all right, get me another pair, a pair who don’t like to sleep so much. So long, Lozano.”

  “Wouldn’t you like to come into the office and sit down, Mr. Bermúdez?” a lieutenant asked him, saluting.

  “No, thank you, Lieutenant, I’d rather get a little air,” he said. “Besides, there’s the plane now. Wake up those two instead and have them bring the car up. I’m going on ahead…. This way, senator, my car’s over here. Please get in. San Isidro, Ludovico, Senator Landa’s house.”

  “I’m glad we’re going to my house and not to jail,” Senator Landa muttered without looking at him. “I hope I’ll be able to change my clothes and take a bath at least.”

  “Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry about all this bother. There was no other way out, senator.”

  “As if they were attacking a fort, carrying machine guns and sirens blaring,” Landa whispered, his mouth close to the window. “My wife almost had a stroke when they showed up at Olave. Did you give them orders to have me stay up all night sitting on a chair too, Bermúdez, in spite of my sixty years?”

  “It’s that big house, the one with the garden, isn’t it, sir?” Ludovico asked.

  “After you, senator,” he said, pointing to the broad, leafy garden, and for an instant he caught a glimpse of them: white, naked, flitting among the laurels, laughing, her white, quick heels on the damp lawn. “Go ahead, go ahead, senator.”

  “Papa, papi!” the girl shouted, opening her arms, and he saw her porcelain face, her large, startled eyes, her short chestnut hair. “I just talked to mami on the telephone and she’s frightened to death. What happened, papi, what happened?”

  “Good morning,” he murmured and quickly undressed her and pushed her toward the sheets where the female forms received her avidly.

  “I’ll tell you about it later, dear.” Landa freed himself from his daughter and turned to him. “Come in, Bermúdez. Call Chiclayo and calm your mother down, Cristina, tell her I’m all right. Don’t let anyone disturb us. Have a seat, Bermúdez.”

  “I’m going to speak to you in all sincerity, senator,” he said. “If you do the same, neither of us will waste any time.”

  “Your recommendation is too much,” Landa said. “I never lie.”

  “General Espina has been arrested, all the officers who promised to help him have made peace with the government,” he said. “We don’t want this to go any farther, senator. Getting down to concrete matters, I’m here to propose that you reaffirm your loyalty to the government and stay on in your post as parliamentary leader. In a word, let’s forget about everything that’s happened.”

  “First I have to know what it is that’s happened,” Landa said. He had his hands on his knees, absolutely motionless.

  “You’re tired and I’m tired,” he murmured. “Can’t we stop wasting time, senator?”

  “First of all I have to know what I’m being accused of,” Landa repeated dryly.

  “Of having served as the link between Espina and the commanders of the garrisons involved,” he said with a resigned expression. “Of having collected money and put your own money into the venture. Of having brought together, in this house and at Olave, the twenty or so civilian plotters who are now under arrest. We’ve got signed declarations, tapes, all the proof you could ask for. But it’s no longer a question of that, we don’t want any explanations. The President is ready to forget all of this.”

  “It’s a question of not having an enemy in the senate who knows the government inside out,” Landa murmured, looking him straight in the eye.

  “It’s a question of not breaking up the parliamentary majority,” he said. “Besides, the government needs your prestige, your name and your influence. All you have to do is say yes, senator, and nothing will ever have happened.”

  “What if I refuse to keep on collaborating?” Landa murmured in an almost inaudible voice.

  “You’d have to leave the country,” he said with an annoyed look. “I don’t have to remind you either that you’ve got a lot of business interests that are tied in with the state, senator.”

  “First the insult, then the blackmail,” Landa said. “I recognize your methods, Bermúdez.”

  “You’re an experienced politician and a good judge, you’re quite aware of what’s best for you,” he said calmly. “Let’s not waste our time, senator.”

  “What’s to become of the people under arrest?” Landa murmured. “Not the military men, who have evidently settled their affairs quite well. The others.”

  “The government has shown you special consideration because we owe you for your services,” he said. “Ferro and the others owe the government for what they are. Each one’s background will be studied and appropriate measures will be
taken.”

  “What kind of measures?” the senator asked. “Those people trusted in me as I trusted in those generals.”

  “Preventive measures, we don’t want to be cruel with anyone,” he said. “They’ll stay in jail for a while, some of them will be exiled. As you can see, nothing very serious. It will all depend on your attitude, of course.”

  “There’s something else.” The senator hesitated slightly. “I mean …”

  “Zavala?” he asked and saw Landa blink several times. “He hasn’t been arrested and if you agree to cooperate he won’t be bothered either. I had a chat with him this morning and he’s anxious to make peace with the government. He must be home now. Talk to him, senator.”

  “I can’t give you an answer now,” Landa said after a few seconds. “Give me a few hours to think it over.”

  “All the time you need,” he said, getting up. “I’ll call you tonight, or tomorrow, if you prefer.”

  “Will your watchdogs leave me alone until then?” Landa asked, opening the door to the garden.

  “You’re not under arrest, not even under surveillance. You can come and go as you please, talk to anyone you want to. Good-bye, senator.” He went out and crossed the garden, feeling them around him, elastic and fragrant, coming and going and coming back again in the flower bed, quick and moist under the shrubs. “Ludovico, Hipólito, wake up. Police Headquarters, quick. I want a tap on Landa’s line, Lozano.”

  “Don’t worry, Don Cayo,” Lozano said, bringing over a chair for him. “I’ve got a patrol car and three policemen there. His telephone’s been tapped for two weeks now.”

  “Get me a glass of water, please,” he said. “I have to take a pill.”

  “The Prefect has prepared this résumé of the situation in Lima,” Lozano said. “No, there’s no news of Velarde. He must have got across the border. The only one out of forty-six, Don Cayo. All the others were arrested and without incident.”

  “We have to keep them incommunicado, both here and in the provinces,” he said. “The calls are going to start coming in from their godfathers at any moment. Ministers, deputies.”

  “They’ve already started, Don Cayo,” Lozano said. “Senator Arévalo just called. He wanted to see Dr. Ferro. I told him no one could see him without your authorization.”

  “Yes, turn them over to me.” He yawned. “Ferro’s got a whole bunch of people grouped together and they’re going to move heaven and earth to get him out.”

  “His wife showed up here this morning,” Lozano said. “All up in arms. Threatening us with the President, ministers. A very pretty lady, Don Cayo.”

  “I didn’t even know that Ferro was married,” he said. “Pretty, you say? That’s probably why he’s kept her hidden.”

  “You look all done in, Don Cayo,” Lozano said. “Why don’t you go get some rest? I don’t think anything important will come up today.”

  “Do you remember three years ago, when there were rumors of an uprising in Juliaca?” he said. “We went for four nights without sleep, just as if nothing was happening. I’m getting old, Lozano.”

  “Can I ask you a question?” And Lozano’s efficient and serviceable face softened. “It’s about the rumors that are going around. That there’ll be cabinet changes, that you’ll be promoted to Public Order. I don’t have to tell you how well that news has been received by the force, Don Cayo.”

  “I don’t think it would suit the President to have me as Minister,” he said. “I’m going to try to dissuade him. But if he insists, what else can I do but accept?”

  “It would be great.” Lozano smiled. “You’ve seen how little coordination there’s been here sometimes because the ministers haven’t had any experience. With General Espina, Dr. Arbeláez. With you it would be something else again, Don Cayo.”

  “Well, I’m going out to San Miguel to get a little rest,” he said. “Would you please call Alcibíades and tell him? I’m only to be awakened if it’s something very urgent.”

  “I’m sorry, I fell asleep again,” Ludovico babbled, shaking Hipólito. “San Miguel? Yes, sir, Don Cayo.”

  “You two go get some sleep and come by for me here at seven o’clock tonight,” he said. “The mistress is in the bath? Yes, fix me something to eat, Símula. Hello there, girl. I’m going to get a little sleep. I’ve been off it for twenty-four hours.”

  “Your face looks horrible.” Hortensia laughed. “Did you behave yourself last night?”

  “I cheated on you with the Minister of War,” he murmured, hearing a tenacious and secret buzzing in his ears, counting the uneven beats of his heart. “Have them bring me something to eat right away, I’m falling asleep on my feet.”

  “Let me fix the bed for you.” Hortensia shook the sheets, drew the curtains, and he felt as if he were sliding down a rocky crag and in the distance he could see hulks moving in the darkness; he kept on sliding, sinking, and suddenly he felt he was being attacked, brutally being pulled out of that dark, dense refuge. “I’ve been hollering at you for five minutes, Cayo. From Headquarters, they say it’s urgent.”

  “Senator Landa went into the Argentine Embassy a half hour ago, Don Cayo.” He felt needles in his eyes, Lozano’s voice was cruelly hammering in his ears. “He got in through a service door. The agents didn’t know it led into the Embassy. I’m terribly sorry, Don Cayo.”

  “He wants a scandal, he wants to avenge his humiliation.” He was slowly recovering the feeling of his senses, his members, but his voice seemed like somebody else’s. “Keep your people there, Lozano. If he comes out, arrest him and take him to Headquarters. If Zavala leaves his house, arrest him too. Hello, Alcibíades? Get Dr. Lora as soon as possible, I have to see him right away. Tell him I’ll be at his office in half an hour.”

  “Dr. Ferro’s wife is waiting for you, Don Cayo,” Dr. Alcibíades said. “I told her you weren’t coming in, but she refuses to leave.”

  “Get rid of her and get hold of Dr. Lora right away,” he said. “Símula, run tell the policemen on the corner that I need the patrol car right away.”

  “What’s the matter, what’s all the rush about?” Hortensia asked, picking up the pajamas he had just thrown on the floor.

  “Problems,” he said, putting on his socks. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “An hour, more or less,” Hortensia said. “You must be starved to death. Shall I have them warm up lunch?”

  “I haven’t got time,” he said. “Yes, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, sergeant, and full speed. Don’t stop for the lights, man, I’m in a big hurry. The Minister’s waiting for me, I had them tell him I’m on my way.”

  “The Minister’s in a meeting, I don’t think he can see you.” The young man with glasses, dressed in gray, was examining him from head to toe with mistrust. “Who shall I say is calling?”

  “Cayo Bermúdez,” he said, and he saw the young man jump to his feet and disappear behind a gleaming door. “I’m sorry to come bursting into your office like this, Dr. Lora, but it’s very important, it concerns Landa.”

  “Landa?” The short, bald little man put out his hand, smiling. “Don’t tell me that …”

  “Yes, he’s been in the Argentine Embassy for an hour,” he said. “Probably asking for asylum. He wants to make a lot of noise and create problems for us.”

  “Well, the best thing would be to give him safe conduct immediately,” Dr. Lora said. “For the fleeing enemy, a bridge of silver, Don Cayo.”

  “By no means,” he said. “Talk to the Ambassador, doctor. Make it quite clear to him that he’s not being sought, assure him that Landa can leave the country with his passport whenever he wants to.”

  “I can only give my word if that promise will be kept, Don Cayo,” Dr. Lora said, smiling awkwardly. “You can imagine the position the government would be in if …”

  “It will be kept,” he said rapidly, and he saw that Dr. Lora was observing him, doubting. Finally he stopped smiling, sighed and pressed a button.

 
“The Ambassador just happens to be on the line.” The young man in gray crossed the office with a small smooth-faced smile, made a kind of genuflection. “Such a coincidence, Mr. Secretary.”

  “Well, now we know that he’s asked for asylum,” Dr. Lora said. “Yes, while I’m talking to the Ambassador, you can use the phone in the outer office, Don Cayo.”

  “Can I use your phone a moment? I’d like to speak in private, please,” he said, and he saw the young man in gray blush quickly, saw him nod with offended eyes and leave. “It’s possible that Landa will leave the Embassy at any moment, Lozano. Don’t bother him. Keep me informed of his movements. I’ll be in my office, yes.”

  “Just as you say, Don Cayo.” The young man was walking back and forth in the hall, lean, tall, gray. “Not Zavala either if he leaves his house? Fine, Don Cayo.”

  “He has, indeed, asked for asylum,” Dr. Lora said. “The Ambassador was surprised. Landa, one of the parliamentary leaders, he couldn’t believe it. He’s agreed to the promise that he won’t be arrested and that he can leave the country whenever he wants to.”

  “You’ve taken a great load off my mind, doctor,” he said. “Now I’m going to try to put an end to this business. Thank you very much, doctor.”

  “Even though it may not be the time for it, I want to be the first to congratulate you,” Dr. Lora said, smiling. “I was pleased to hear that you’ll be joining the cabinet on the National Holiday, Don Cayo.”

  “Just rumors,” he said. “Nothing’s been decided yet. The President hasn’t spoken to me yet, and I don’t know whether or not I’ll accept.”

  “Everything’s been decided and we’re all very pleased,” Dr. Lora said, taking his arm. “You have to make a sacrifice and accept. The President trusts you, and with good reason. Good-bye, Don Cayo.”

  “Good-bye, sir,” the young man in gray said with a bow.

  “Good-bye,” he said, and giving a violent tug with his own hands he castrated him and threw the gelatinous mass to Hortensia: eat it. “To the Ministry of Government, sergeant. Have the secretaries left yet? What’s wrong, doctor, you’re livid.”