Mateo Melgarejo is a notary public and scribe for the illiterate people of Santo Domingo, a neighborhood north of Mexico City's Zócalo. A squatter friend asks for his help in negotiating with the land census bureau to regularize a land title. After a great deal of frustration with the government bureaucracy, he writes a letter to the cabinet minister, earning an audience with him. The minister hires Melgarejo to reform the bureau, and the appointee proceeds to lecture the officials on their duties in a democratic society. At the end, he gives up the post, returning to Santo Domingo to help its poor residents.
Cantinflas
Mateo Melgarejo 'Mateíto'
Chela Castro
Vicky
Lucía Méndez
Barbara
Ángel Garasa
Avelino Romero 'Romeritos'
Manolita Saval
Estrellita
Delia Peña Orta
María
Alonso Castaño
Don Nachito
Miguel Manzano
Don Antonio, señor ministro
