Learning another language is difficult! We take for granted the everyday slang, conjugations, and colloquialisms we use all the time, but when you're trying to speak a different language it's easy to confuse the basics. I messed up one of those basics trying to translate "we are poor."
The confusion is that there are two verbs for "to be." "Estar" is more of a transient verb used for situations like "I am tired" (estoy consado), whereas "ser" is used for more permanent things, like "I am human" (soy humano).
As an optimistic gringo, I was sure that saying "we are poor" would fall into the transient category (estamos pobre), but it turns out that Spanish-based cultures are far less optimistic about social mobility. The correct form is "somos pobre" with the implication that being poor is just part of who you are...good luck changing that!
Command and Control Culture
Another observation I've made traveling through Latin America is that the culture is much more command-and-control oriented. One of my friends here explained it the other day:
The colonies that formed the United States were founded by English, Dutch, Germans, etc. escaping repression. They came to the Americas in search of a better life with more freedom. That didn't happen here in Latin America. Our colonies were formed by conquerors who enslaved the natives and happened to mix with them over time; the culture we have today is based on that social structure and so you see dictatorship as the go-to form of government all over Latin America.
This is just anecdotal, but if I were a betting man I would wager this historical explanation of the hierarchical culture to at least be ballpark correct.
Hierarchies are pervasive here. The government is skewed more authoritarian than laissez-faire, relationships between employer and employee are more pronounced in power, and social class is still highly inversely correlated to skin color.
Passing Judgment on Different
It's easy to pass judgment on things that are different. Regular readers of this blog know that I prefer both social and economic freedom--I don't really see the distinction between the two--so it's easy to jump to conclusions criticizing other societies that have more controls.
Not everyone wants to live in a libertarian society, even in the United States, which was essentially founded as one. Latin American culture seems to favor, at least by super majority, the strong man type of regime; one that makes the pretense of caring for its subjects (or maybe even does in some ways sometimes).
The type of culture that views poverty as part of who you are sees positive change as something bestowed by a powerful, but caring, ruler. Nicaragua is getting wealthier and life here is improving for many people over time, despite so much of economic life being controlled by a few in power by less-than-fully-democratic means.
Whether life could improve quicker with more freedom is another question for another day, but I'm just an outsider looking in.
What are your thoughts?
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Rob Viglione is a PhD Candidate in Finance @UofSC with research interests in cryptofinance, asset pricing, and innovation. He is a former physicist, mercenary mathematician, and military officer with experience in satellite radar, space launch vehicles, and combat support intelligence. Currently a Principal at Key Force Consulting, LLC, a start-up consulting group in North Carolina, and Head of U.S. & Canada Ambassadors @BlockPay, Rob holds an MBA in Finance & Marketing and the PMP certification. He is a passionate libertarian who advocates peace, freedom, and respect for individual life.