He tried to say the sum was just like a present for a close relative--"When a rich brother goes to visit a poorer brother, the rich brother should not go empty-handed, " he explained--but that excuse was utterly unconvincing.

FORBES: New Asia

Yet the steel lobby is unlikely to go away empty-handed.

ECONOMIST: Steel scrap

He has taken a big gamble with the tour: after such a build-up, it would be hard for him go back to Chiapas empty-handed.

ECONOMIST: Subcomandante Marcos: the Mexican grand tour