This reminds me of a short story by O. Henry. I don't remember many of the specifics, but it's set in the world of American (or perhaps it was Mexican) small-town politics and graft. There's a character, a career con-man, who gets to be town mayor by discovering what he says is the best graft of all: honesty. You just do what you say you're going to do and don't try to con people. They'll flock to do business with you, and you make a pile of money without having to steal anything! They can't even put you in jail for it!

ETA: A quick look at Wikipedia suggests this is from his collection of linked short stories, Cabbages and Kings, set in Central America.