Noli Me Tangere

Chapter 11 begins with a question: "Who ran the village?" The narrator then goes on to explain that neither Don Rafael, nor the wealthy Tiago, nor the mayor, nor even God is in charge. Instead, the priests wield all the power. One by one, the narrator describes, with sardonic irony, how impotent each of those men are in San Diego. The description of the unnamed mayor is the most ironic because of how entirely the priests control him, despite his nominal powers:

He was an unhappy man. He did not give orders; he took them. He ruled no one; he was ruled. He did not command; he was commanded. On the other hand he had to explain to the local chief magistrate any orders, arrangements, and mandates as if they had come from his own head, but they were done in his name, he had not stolen or usurped his high position: it had cost him five thousand pesos and a great deal of humiliation. And for what it cost him, it seemed fairly cheap.

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