19:01 Dec 9, 2011 

It's possible that the family had something valuable physically taken away from them, but I don't think the expression necessarily implies this. "Quitar la paletita" is not that common, but here are a couple of examples of how it can be used:

"no me ire como un niño amurrado que le quitaron la paletita"
http://hispankillers.foroes.net/t346-nuevo-mapa-stupid-face

"comportandoce como un nino que le quitaron la paletita, Playero, you need to get over it kid, Si te enamorastes de Melina, y ella no te queria dar un pedazo, eso no son maneras de comportarte"
http://elrincondelchisme.blogspot.com/2010/12/como-duele-ser...

In other words, it's a metaphor implying that they've been frustrated in some way; perhaps they've lost something, perhaps they've been preventing from acquiring something; perhaps one of their relatives has been arrested. The point of the expression is that whatever it is, they're in a strop about it, having a tantrum, like a kid.

16:22 Dec 9, 2011 

many thanks for the explanation. Without knowing who "quitaron" this paletita I find it difficult to pin down a meaning, but from your explanation what occurs to me is "they took away their lucrative little earner", "they took away their money spinner". However perhaps Chris' "candy" is more suitable than these options because it hints rather than spelling things out.

I think it is important to include the notion of "they had their thingummy taken away" i.e. the company lost something, because this explains why the company is feeling "sore" and writing about it.

15:20 Dec 9, 2011 

Hi Deborah,
As far as I can tell there's no evidence in the text that paletita refers to "immunity." This powerful family is the one that had something taken away from them (quitaron), whatever that may be - privileges, perks, shady deals etc....hence they are "fiscalizando y criticando", and they voice this critique through one of the newspapers they own.

07:56 Dec 9, 2011 

is there anything else about this extract in the text, so as to indicate whether paletita refers to "immunity", or what, and also who is the subject of "quitaron" - thanks