Dem Rich Mesicans

[Chorn]

Betelgeuse , your $00.02?

Mexico's cosseted elite: Named and shamed
The Economist

IT HAS been a bad week for Mexico’s high and mighty, and a good week for Schadenfreude. This is thanks in large part to the growth of social media (as a share of the population, Twitter is said to be more prevalent in Mexico than it is in the United States) and a public increasingly sick of the warped sense of entitlement enjoyed by parts of the political establishment.

There can be few Mexicans who are not relishing the downfall of Humberto Benítez, head of the consumer protection agency, Profeco, who was sacked on the orders of President Enrique Peña Nieto on May 15th. For weeks Mr Benítez clung tenaciously to his job, claiming he had nothing to do with a scandal that started when his daughter, Andrea (pictured), failed to get the table she wanted in one of Mexico City’s trendiest restaurants. She stormed over to Profeco demanding that the restaurant, Maximo Bistrot, be closed down. Her father was in hospital at the time, but his subalterns responded with alacrity, sending over inspectors who partially halted business at the restaurant over some minor misdemeanours. Not, however, before Twitter had started to buzz with the story (Andrea was quickly branded #LadyProfeco), turning it into a national scandal.

On May 9th, Mr Benítez absolved himself of responsibility and said the idea of resigning had never crossed his mind—even though four of his underlings were suspended from work for responding to his daughter’s precocity. Less than a week later, though, the president pushed him out to avoid further damage to Profeco’s reputation. It was a welcome move that made Mr Peña look good. It must have made those who named and shamed his daughter feel even better.

By coincidence, in the same week that Mr Benítez was sacked, a local radio station in the south-eastern state of Tabasco revealed audio recordings of Andrés Granier, a former governor of the state, bragging about his 400 pairs of shoes, 600 suits and 1,000 shirts, most of which he kept in his swanky homes abroad because, he said, he was obliged to dress down in Tabasco. Responding to the revelations, which were recorded shortly before he left office, he claimed that he was drunk at the time, and denied most if it. But newspapers were quick to note the old saying that children and drunks always speak the truth.

These stories suggest something positive is emerging in Mexico, a country that, despite some improvements, still has one of the widest gaps between rich and poor in Latin America. Those armed with iPhones, cameras and recording devices—albeit they too, probably, living far better than most Mexicans—are increasingly calling politicians and others to account for unjustifiable extravagance, in effect forcing them to take responsibility for their actions. So is the mainstream media.

There may be political benefits to the crusade. Mexicans have been regaled with stories about the opulent lifestyle of Elba Esther Gordillo, former head of the main teachers’ union, now languishing in jail accused of money laundering and links to organised crime. Her arrest came just after the passage of a big education reform that the union had long resisted. In the past month Reforma, a widely read Mexican newspaper, has also exposed the fabulous jet-set lifestyle in Miami of the son of Carlos Romero Deschamps, leader of the oil-workers' union. This will make it all the harder for Mr Romero Deschamps to stand up against reform of the energy sector.

Such stories make wonderful press: they offer a tantalising glimpse into the private lives of a privileged few; they also strike a chord with a society fed up at seeing such a cosseted elite lapping up so much of Mexico’s prosperity. The good news is that these days, society has more tools and more guts to bring them to account.

I've a couple reasons why the Mexican elite are of interest to me. My great grandfather's parents both died when he was in second grade, forcing him to drop out and become a shepherd in rural Mexico. He and my great grandmother came to Texas, where he worked on the railroad for close to 60 years. My grandmother is one of nine children, raised poor, but not starving. Both great grandparents heavily took after their Indian heritage.

My grandfather was part of the Argentine elite and was basically disowned from his family when he married a poor Tejana (and was further distanced when he divorced her, leaving her with three kids, to run off to Mexico with a drug addicted prostitute). Still, interesting that his family disapproved of my grandmother so much because of her low social standing (though it is interesting to note that after he left her, they were so appalled by his actions that they paid for my grandmother's education...she later went on to become a principle of a high school in Houston).

I worked retail in San Antonio through university. There was a certain type of Mexican which took entitlement to a whole new level. They drove up to San Antonio to shop. When I worked at a book store, they would routinely spread the books they were thinking of purchasing out on the floor, pick out the few, and leave the rest for me to place back on the shelves. Routinely they would just hand me trash. This is now the impression I have when I think of the Mexican 1%.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I was reading this via mobile, but to comment I had to use the laptop, cause this is an interesting topic. So this might be a long post, excuse me if there is some grammatical errors or misspelled words.

First this #ladyProfeco thing. I didn't about it, until I read it via Twitter. I use Twitter a lot to get a sense of what's happening in my country. And this is a case in which we, Mexicans, we really get angry, because you see the lack of equality. So the story as it says, she went to a restaurant, the restaurant couldn't give her a table and she decide to used the power that his dad had to scare the people of the restaurant. Take note of this, the power his dad have (at that time) not hers. This have become very popular nowadays in Mexico. I think that what Peña did, taking him out of the charge was good, but then again, Peña should be revoked of his chances of winning the presidency because via Twitter her daughter called all the Mexican people "la Prole" which basically it's like calling all of us (Mexicans) poor people/stupid and basically with no education of any kind.

Then there is this case of the guy bragging about how many shoes he have and suits and shirts. I don't know in the rest of the world, but then again in Mexico it's becoming very very popular. Just take a look into this webpage mirrreybook.com and you will only see guys all dressed up in well-known brands, drinking stupid amounts of champagne (sometimes they just spill all the bottle like in F1 events, just because they have the money to spill it) and some others with their private jets... that maybe they don't even own, you can rent a private jet, but hey you don't know the story behind it, so it's easier to say that you travel on a private plane.

This brings me to another story. There was another candidate last year called AMLO. When I've been to Villahermosa with my cousins sometimes in the nightclub we found the son of this guy. Drinking champagne with a bunch of girls and he sometimes invite all the nightclub a drink. He wears a lot of Ferragamo (and remember we are not talking about quality here, in here what matters is the price, the more expensive the better, that how they think) owns a few yatchs and as far as I know he doesn't do shit. Everything comes from the money his dad steals. This is what it's the most stupid. This guy (his dad) said that if he looses the presidential elections, he will be out of politics. He lost. But know he's founded a political party called Morena and this is really what bothers me... he convinced all his followers to affiliate to his party, the only thing they have to do, is to donate $100 pesos and they will receive a paper indicating that they are members of this party. Guess what? They have already millions of people affiliated to the party. It's fucking ridiculous how stupid people sometimes can be.

The last part brings me to the case of this lady, Elba Esther Gordillo. A friend of my sister used to date one of his nephews... a fucking terrible guy. I remember I read when she was captured that she had like 14 million pesos to spend every single month. Can you imagine what could you do with 1.2 million dollars to spend every single month? That it's not my main point, instead takes back to what Chorn says people did when he was at a library. When I go to the mall here in Santa Fe, sometimes I've seen this guy that is like 10-12 years old, all dressed in Gucci, Ferragamo and all those brands carrying at least 6 or 7 bags of those brands. Do you know how this guy is going to be in a few years? He will be the guy that do that kind of stuff in a library. I've also heard neighbors that are 6 or 7 years old, telling their personal coaches (swim coaches or tennis coaches that they are not going to do something they are telling them to do or they will tell their body guards to hit them. I really feel scared hearing this kind of stuff... I seriously don't know how sick of power this guys would be when they grow up. They will be killing them each other with just a minor provocation.

Finally, taking back the story of the nephew of Elba Esther... one day we went out with my sister's friend and his boyfriend. The bottle we were drinking was gone and the lady that cleans the tables came to the table to get the bottle and keep our table clean. This guy when he saw that the lady was taking the empty bottle, he took the bottle of his hands, throw it to the floor and told the lady: "Pick it up" and he started kicking the bottle. Are you fucking serious? My cousin and I just were impressed by this behavior. Then my cousin picked the bottle and put it in the bag that the lady have to put all the trash. He gave us a look that was like "Why the fuck are you challenging my actions" or something like that and we just ignored him. Very bad experience that day. You don't have the right to treat people like that whoever you are.

It's good to know that Mexico is getting wealthier, but scares the shit out of me to know that ethics and morality are being throwed to the trash cans.

 

[Chorn]

I think it might be somewhat of a unique problem. The emphasis on conspicuous consumption is something which happens to the upper class in most emerging economies, but in this case it is magnified because of Mexico's proximity to America.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I think it might be somewhat of a unique problem. The emphasis on conspicuous consumption is something which happens to the upper class in most emerging economies, but in this case it is magnified because of Mexico's proximity to America.

Oh yeah. A lot of people prefer to go buy their clothes to the US. I mean, sometimes it's cheaper, for example, now that I discovered that I can buy new SC's on eBay for 35% of the retail price or less than in here, I will never buy in here again. But I think I found a bespoke tailor that studied in Napoli, so I will like to buy from him than going out of Mexico to get tailored stuff. We often call ourselves "malinchistas" which means that you prefer to buy imported things over national ones because we tend to think that things made in Mexico are not good, but things have changed.

 

[Grand Potentate]

I honestly have to say I was surprised when I went down to Polanco, not just at the class division, but that Mexico was THAT rich. Walking around down there was like walking in the nicest areas of Miami. Then you'd cross the street and be back with the poor folks.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Yup. I will try to get a pic of one very common place in here were you can see that too. Passing by the bridge at one side you can see a very exclusive residential with private gold course and all that. You turn your head and find the "Paracaidistas" that is people that don't have money but they invaded a terrain and built their houses there.

 

[Grand Potentate]

Yup. I will try to get a pic of one very common place in here were you can see that too. Passing by the bridge at one side you can see a very exclusive residential with private gold course and all that. You turn your head and find the "Paracaidistas" that is people that don't have money but they invaded a terrain and built their houses there.

One of the most revealing trips for me was the bus ride out of Terminal Norte to teotihuacan. Driving through the outskirts of Mexico City you could see the shanty towns and shitty buildings go on for MILES. Just crappy, unpainted, shanty homes for as far as the eye could see.

 

[Betelgeuse]

One of the most revealing trips for me was the bus ride out of Terminal Norte to teotihuacan. Driving through the outskirts of Mexico City you could see the shanty towns and shitty buildings go on for MILES. Just crappy, unpainted, shanty homes for as far as the eye could see.

Sometimes seeing that makes you grateful to whoever you believe for what you have, right?

 

[Grand Potentate]

Sometimes seeing that makes you grateful to whoever you believe for what you have, right?

exactly

 

[Chorn]

acidboy, I don't know if you live in Manila, but I'm sure you've been there. I found the proximity of shantytowns to affluent areas absolutely stunning (like sometimes across the street from each other). I'm sure you could shed more light on this than I can.

(also, for some reason I think you're based out of the Philippines; sorry if I am mistaken)

 

[Betelgeuse]

As promised the pic, when you are driving thruogh this bridge, at the right you can see this:

Houses valuated in more than $1,000,000 usd (and yes they sell those to us in dollars) private golf course and a lot of luxury.

And if you turn your head, you see this:

 

[Grand Potentate]

Betelgeuse Have you been to Monterey? There's a rich section of town that's supposed to have the most combined wealth in all of Mexico. Its absolutely insane.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Betelgeuse Have you been to Monterey? There's a rich section of town that's supposed to have the most combined wealth in all of Mexico. Its absolutely insane.

A couple of times, but not much cause the situation of drug cartels in there is pretty scary.

I don't know about that zone, in here we same various zones like that, Santa Fe, Interlomas, Polanco, Masaryk, and others. In the residential that is in the first image, rumors say that one of Carlos Slim's sons lives in there.

 

[Grand Potentate]

A couple of times, but not much cause the situation of drug cartels in there is pretty scary.

I don't know about that zone, in here we same various zones like that, Santa Fe, Interlomas, Polanco, Masaryk, and others. In the residential that is in the first image, rumors say that one of Carlos Slim's sons lives in there.

Thankfully, I didn't see any violence in the 3 days I was there. But that area is supposedly nicer than Polanco. I didn't make it to Santa Fe, Inter, or Masaryk.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Thankfully, I didn't see any violence in the 3 days I was there. But that area is supposedly nicer than Polanco. I didn't make it to Santa Fe, Inter, or Masaryk.

When I was there I didn't saw anything too, but my uncle that lives there, he has sold all his cars and changed them for very cheap cars. He can't move out of there becuase his business is in there.

You should visit those places, you wouldn't be dissapointed. They doesn't look like Mexico.

 

[Zé Ferreira]

I'm impressed by how much money there is in the world. It's stories like this about irresponsable, uptight, entitled biatches that makes me wonder "where's my share?" and "how do I link myself into the money chain?" Like seriously -with that much cash just floating around, how do you get to it?

But seriously, entitlement stories like those of Chorn and Betelgeuse above make me quiver.

 

[Betelgeuse]

I'm impressed by how much money there is in the world. It's stories like this about irresponsable, uptight, entitled biatches that makes me wonder "where's my share?" and "how do I link myself into the money chain?" Like seriously -with that much cash just floating around, how do you get to it?

But seriously, entitlement stories like those of Chorn and Betelgeuse above make me quiver.

Sometimes I think this too.

 

[hossoso]

Fucking fresas... this is why I hang out in Tepito.

 

[Betelgeuse]

Fucking fresas... this is why I hang out in Tepito.

Uy que especial, Hoss. Hahaha. :LOLguy-88:

 

[Grand Potentate]

strawberries?

 

[Zé Ferreira]

strawberries?

 

[Grand Potentate]

I got the literal definition, not the slang...

 

[Zé Ferreira]

I know roblemo-4:

 

[Betelgeuse]

strawberries?

HAHAHA!

A social slang term used in Mexico, before only a noun for strawberry, to describe stuck up Spanish girls or boys that have picky tastes, are extremely spoiled and always get their way, have little concern for the needs of others, and are snob, rude, and overly obnoxious. Densely populated in northern Mexico and the U.S. states that surround its northern border, they are often associated but quite different from preps through the fact that preps usually pay little attention to other "types” of people. They are, however, critical of other people and their personalities, believing that they are superior to everyone else, and mostly only associate with themselves. In most cases depending on region, Fresas can’t speak Spanish consistently or well, talk differently from those around them, look like they are white, sometimes deny their culture or don't want to be what they are. They are also usually of middle high or high class so they believe they are better at life when in fact it doesn’t mean shit. Anyone above middle class in Mexican society is often born cursed to be a Fresa. Some Fresas are actually pseudo-fresas, those who pretend to be Fresa but aren't, and are the most susceptible to criticism from those against the Fresa way. It is a sad way of acting, let alone life, and they are a disappointment and pitiful embarrassment to Mexico. In fact there is an unspoken rivalry between Fresas and non-Fresas that has only led to bitter up front hate against each group.

But the definition needs to be wider. Now "fresa" is nothing compared to a "Mirrrey" (for guys) or a "Lobuki" (for girls).

 

[Grand Potentate]

But the definition needs to be wider. Now "fresa" is nothing compared to a "Mirrrey" (for guys) or a "Lobuki" (for girls).

Dammit, what do these words mean?!?!

 

[Betelgeuse]

"Mirrrey" no matter how rodiculous you look, if it is by a well know designer wear it, always drink champagne and always in your pics, show you have a lot of money. Call your bros "papawh" and always add "-irri" to your words.

"Lobuki" same as a Mirrrey but when in a picture always do the duck face.

Or point with your finger to the camera, that is understood as: "No, tu eres el Mirrrey" (No, you are the Mirrrey)

Add meme captions and you get this, specially for you Rambo

 

[Grand Potentate]

I'd be her Mirrrey

 

[Grand Potentate]

Betelgeuse I made that my Facebook profile pic

 

[Betelgeuse]

Betelgeuse I made that my Facebook profile pic

:LOLguy-88:

Hahaha when someone ask you what is it, just tell them "I'm her Mirrrey, you don't need to know more." Haha!

 

[Zé Ferreira]

Am I overshooting things here, or is this a modern form of racism/classism, separating los indios from los blancos?

 

[Betelgeuse]

Am I overshooting things here, or is this a modern form of racism/classism, separating los indios from los blancos?

No, I don't think so. Cause, and I don't mean this is a racist way, there are some guys like look like "indios" but they follow this lifestyle.

 

[Chorn]

Though don't they go to great lengths to play down their Indian heritage?

and I have several such pictures get posted on my newsfeed a couple of times a month from some Latin Americans I went to school with.

 

[hossoso]

Am I overshooting things here, or is this a modern form of racism/classism, separating los indios from los blancos?

Calling a Mexican racist is just adding insult to injury. <<<<Now that was racist! :ThankYou:

 

[Chorn]

There is no group better in this world than the Tejanos.

 

[Betelgeuse]

There is no group better in this world than the Tejanos.

Boo Weekley approves. He used to think that golf was born in Texas... when he played at St. Andrews, the home of golf, at an interview they asked him that and he said he didn't know that. :LOLguy-88:

 

[Chorn]

I have one word for you: Selena

 

[Betelgeuse]

I was very young when she was killed.