There is a moral second meaning here. Until now, the railway has proceeded by
consent of the "tractable" Sta Marta landowners and by the simple heroism
of man against nature. It will hereupon proceed into the Sulaco valley, where
it must resort to either bribery or brute force. At this moment it is closest
to Higuerota, i.e., closest to the ideal of benevolent progress that it supposedly
represents.