The pelado's smeared conquistador's hands, that had clutched the melon, now clutched a sad bloodstained pile of silver pesos and centavos – UTV, 250.
Above: The Consul's failure to help the dying Indian intensifies his feelings of guilt, which are further exemplified in the novel by the two motifs, the Hands of Orlac and those of the conquistador. This part of the mural by Diego Rivera depicts the brutal exploitation of the Indians by the Spaniards.
"And as you say first, Spaniard exploits Indian, then, when he had children, he exploited the halfbreed, then the pure-blooded Mexican Spaniard, the criollo, then the mestizo exploits everybody, foreigners, Indians, and all. Then the Germans and Americans exploited him: now the final chapter, the exploitation of everybody by everybody else–" – UTV, 300.Below: This darker panel from the Diego Rivera mural illustrates the Spanish exploitation of the native Indian – a circular exploitation, given that they Indians are depicted constructing the Cortés palace itself.
