#1379 – The Expat Files: Cost of Living, Cultural Insights, and Political Controversies in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started God I keep running into tight-wad skin flint gringos I'm talking about skin flint expats who are living down here. Did they come down here because they are skin flints Well, probably lots of them do because they've heard it's so cheap down here the cost of living is so low

[00:48] Well comparatively anyway, it's always been like that except of course where there are lots of gringos tons of gringos They drive up the prices so high. You can't believe it, but you knew that already, right? Costa Rica here. I come said Johnny never Yep, when gringos pile in it can get expensive oftentimes You'll find it's more expensive to live in Latin America than in Milwaukee or Cleveland now down here You know as opposed to up in the states. They've got something called the canasta basica in English your basic basket of goods Now this so-called canasta basica is not something that gringos and expats concern themselves with at all But the locals man they sure do every Latin American country comes out with a statistic called the canasta basica every year

[01:35] Basically, it's the amount of money a family of Ford needs to earn every month to buy the necessities including rent transportation housing etc Now as its description states the canasta basica has the word basica in it That's basic really minimum requirements for a family of four Now personally I've known probably Dozens if not hundreds of families over the years who've lived on that canasta basica They make enough to just get by it would be considered middle or lower middle-class living here in Latin America, but surviving However, when you see that figure that canasta basica figure for the month You should not confuse it with what you and I as gringos and expats would consider decent living

[02:20] 21st or even 20th century living though, maybe if we were living back in the 50s You know before houses had air conditioning color TV when mothers didn't have clothes dryers. They dried them out on the clothesline So anyway, if you average out all the 20 Latin American countries that canasta basica for 2024 works out to be around a hundred dollars a person a month It varies quite a bit depending if you're on or off the gringo tourist trail or living in the city or on the boonies For example, if you're off the gringo tourist trail It would cost around 400 bucks for a family of four here in Latin America to live on the canasta basica or a hundred bucks Give or take for a single person. I know I know it sounds ridiculous Right a hundred bucks a month live a basic life

[03:06] Hell you and your girlfriend or wife could drop that on the date in a restaurant Of course, there are countries where it can be a lot more than that They can ask the bassica for example in Ecuador's around eight hundred bucks a month. That's for a family of four So two hundred bucks a person now Why do you think that is? Would that be maybe because Ecuador's been touted as the number one gringo expat destination for retirement? And thus we've priced out the locals. Hmm doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to that conclusion Oh, and by the way, I'm kind of sick of that term the term It's not rocket science because rocket science ain't what it's cracked up to be That used to be in the boomer days. Anyway thought as the epitome of genius level thinking rocket scientists Well, it ain't like that no more. I say it's somewhat like the word awesome way to overuse. Let's drop it

[03:55] How about it these days when you're talking about a genius comparison skip the rocket scientist thing and substitute it with something like brain surgery That should serve for the immediate future. That is until AI takes over but I digress as usual Where were we? Oh, yeah far as this can ask the bassica thing. For example, let's talk about Guatemala They actually published to can ask that bassicas yearly one for folks who are living in the city and one for folks living on the boonies For example, it says in 2024 that can ask the bassica for a single person an urban dweller is around 846 kits Alice that's the local funny money per month. It's about eight kits Alice to the dollar So we're talking about around a hundred ten hundred twenty bucks a month. That's food rent transportation the works

[04:43] but for Guatemala's living out in the boonies is 654 kits Alice a month, which is probably like 80 bucks Now, of course, the reason why they estimate the canasta bassica for a family of four living together Is because when you've got a family living in a house, you've got economy of scale I'm sure you get that because a single person even a shoeshine boy or a guy who chopped lots With a machete for a living would have a terrible time of it living on from 80 to 110 or 20 bucks a month However with foreign a family living under the same roof all pooling their efforts. They do pull it up, but man It's sure ain't easy living. Oh, and you should know that when Latin American governments do figure out that number for the canasta bassica every year They measure rents and electric bills and public transportation costs and they take into account

[05:32] 60 to 70 different products food products that is and they measure out the number of grams needed to cover the minimum required caloric needs of a person etc But just think about it for a minute in all my 30 plus years down here I don't think I met a single gringo or expat who could live on that amount much less four or five times that amount Even the cheapest of gringo and expat cheapskates. I've ever met tell me they live on at least 500 bucks a month Yeah, that's right. I know some gringos nice pets who tell me that they survive on 500 bucks a month here in Latin America Now I know that might sound awful mind-blowing to some of you out there But I assure you when they tell me they live on 500 bucks a month They have nice smiles on their faces and they seem very content now

[06:18] Of course, we're not talking about gringos and expats who have a nice car or go out to the restaurants and have drinks at the gringo Bars, I'd say they do that stuff practically never. In fact, I go to the gringo bars practically never Anyway, the point is I'd say 50 to 70 percent of all the locals local Latinos Live by the number stated in that canasta bassica, which is another reason why they think all gringos I mean all of us are rich Simply because they all know we can walk into a restaurant and blow 25 bucks for one meal Which breaks down to about a week? It's worth of expenses for someone living on the canasta bassica The locals also see that most of us drive cars and when we go to the gas station It's no big thing for us to drop 25 bucks in the tank

[07:05] Now the thing is after living down here so long and knowing Spanish decently anyway I really do know the habits of the average Latino now I know for a fact that one of the biggest achievements in a Latinos life a landmark event is when a guy graduates from public transportation To owning and driving a motorcycle. We're not talking about a Harley either We're talking about any old motorcycle That is the crowning achievement for any guy living in the body Oh, and of course if he's got a girlfriend and he will have one fast as soon as he gets a motorcycle That becomes a landmark moment for a young Latina lady, too Not that she'll ever buy one or drive one It's the fact that she wants to have a guy who has at least a motorcycle So she doesn't have to ride public transportation anymore. You know chicken buses and such

[07:53] Simply because a young Latina girl riding the bus is a target for phone theft etc And a lot of unwanted attention cat calls and ass pinching That's why in cities and barrios alike a guy with a motorcycle always seems to have a girlfriend or two or three In fact one gringo expat buddy put it like this. He said Johnny Every small town out in the boonies has one or two or three or ten extremely beautiful young ladies Would be beauty pageant winners, but the wrong place in the wrong time He said Johnny if you have a decent car you could have a date with any one of them And I knew exactly what he meant. He didn't mean they were bad girls They were just girls looking for a leg up and you can't do that in a small time when everyone's running around with a motorcycle and everyone Else is taking the chicken bus which has previously stated no woman really wants to do oh

[08:42] And here's something that always strikes me funny When I pull into a gas station and fill a tank with let's say 20 or 30 bucks worth of petrol It never fails at the other pump still be a motorcycle or two filling up or often a vehicle That's a complete disastrous wreck pretty much a death trap filling up to still on the road still in service But for how long who knows the thing I've noticed is that the motorcyclist will often put in 50 cents with a gas you know and look funny money anyway Sometimes less sometimes 20 or 30 cents worth and the guy driving the wreck with the busted windshield and the doors being held by bungee cords He'll put maybe a buck or two dollars worth of gas in the tank sometimes even 50 cents like those motorcycle kooka ratchets Hey when I was in high school young and broke I had no shame either shame was expensive I couldn't afford it

[09:33] I've been there have you all of which reminds me when I was in high school driving my dad's car a 1959 Rambler Ambassador Automatic push-button vomit green two-toned what an ugly piece of shit that was but it ran man I can't tell you how many times I pulled up to a gas station and put 50 cents with a petrol on that thing No shame either like I said couldn't afford to have any I'd even bide my time till I drove past a cheapo No name gas station because I knew it would be maybe two cents cheaper per gallon than standard or shell or Texaco So just a heads up That's what you'll see when you pull into a gas station here in Latin America guys on motorcycles getting 50 cents for the gas And guys in Rener X buying gas with the change they found between the seats

[10:20] Here's another strange thing. I've noticed. I've been a passenger in many many Latin American cars and trucks Especially when I'm in the backseat I like to look over and see how much gas the person's got and how many idiot lights they have permanently lit on the dashboard I'll tell you that's one thing Latinos pay absolutely no attention to at all idiot lights that should not be flashing details details I'll tell you some of these guys dashboards look like Christmas trees Anyway, as far as the gas gauge thing, man I don't think I've ever been in a Latin Americans car even in a nice expensive fairly new car where they've had more than a Quarter tank of gas. In fact, sometimes it's better I don't look at the gas age at all because I've been in cars where the guys driving around where the needle seems stuck

[11:05] On empty and all you see on the dashboard is the warm yellow glow of the low fuel light Doesn't seem to bother anyone not any Latino in the car anyway But I know gringos and expats man, we get uptight when we see that stuff We're idiot light pessimists when we see the low fuel light come on We're thinking the gas is gonna run out within the next mile But Latinos that the glass have full type it can wait till tomorrow or next week Remind me to check the seat cushions Only in Latin America details details. Oh and one more thing about this canasta Bassica thing, you know, it's some government agency that calculates those monthly numbers Insert laugh track here har har hardy har har

[11:52] I mean, they're always putting their spin on things to make themselves look better look at the unemployment numbers in the US All bullshit all lies. No way that's three or four percent. It's more like 20% Just check that site called shadow stats Inflation to in the US government calculate said it's all lies Designed of course to make the party in power look like they're doing a credible job instead of revealing what they really are Shit for brains pigs gorging at the public trough So when it comes to the canasta bassica here in Latin America Yeah, I can't really believe those numbers truly because the government puts them out now some private economists, etc I have put out what they call the real canasta bassica numbers about time, too They started doing so recently because of the massive inflation worldwide after all that extreme money printing during COVID

[12:44] So in the private sector cooler more logical minds have prevailed and they've come up with their own canasta bassica figures Far removed from the government numbers. For example in Guatemala The government says it costs the average city guy around 110 or 20 bucks a month. Meanwhile, the other group who say they express the real numbers are saying it's more like 2048 Quetzalas a month for a single person around 250 bucks a month. Hmm. Nothing to see here. It's only about a hundred percent more than the government numbers sound familiar Alright moving on. You know how I always talk about the Latin American newspapers in Spanish only and how the news down here is quite Different than what you see up in the States Now, of course, most of the Latin country newspapers are online so you can't hit an English translate button

[13:33] But almost no one ever does that even gringos and expats who've been living in a Latin country for years Don't really read the local newspapers online or physically their Spanish usually isn't good enough for one thing Secondly, they think the issues being discussed whether politically or economically really don't affect them because they got money coming from their pensions Whatever and more than likely they're living in gringoized areas or gated guarded communities and are pretty much isolated from what's happening On the ground with the locals sure. They know they're cleaning lady and maintenance guys dirt poor But hey, that's life, right? Plus they seem fat and happy the dirty little secret is most gringos and expats do not have Latino friends Not real friends most gringos and expats seek out other Gringos and expats to hang with and they get their news from lame stream media coming from the states

[14:23] They get it all directed online. Just like you Speaking of the differences in news sources Occasionally I get inquiries from people saying Johnny. What about Nicaragua and you know, I've never much recommended Nicaragua I've been there many times and I know gringos and expats We have moved there and are quite happy, but they've stayed far away from Managua. They're on the boonies They're out living on around the small towns near the coast As it turns out much of this sporadic unrest that happens in the capital Managua doesn't seem to spread out much to the boonies at all So gringos and expats leaving outside of Managua seem pretty happy and unconcerned about what the president Daniel Ortega Does or doesn't do concerning the population now your longtime listeners might remember a couple of years ago when people were asking me about

[15:12] Nicaragua I mentioned that president Daniel Ortega's stepdaughter Zola Mera Navarez came out with an explosive accusation when she was 30 years old Composed a 48 page list of sexual abuse allegations against President Ortega her stepfather She filed civil and criminal charges against him in Managua Then the court threw it out naturally because he has presidential immunity and can't be tried So she took it to the United Nations Turns out in her 48 page affidavit to the world court. She said her stepfather Daniel Ortega President pulled her into hotel rooms forced her to have sex claiming that having sex with him was her revolutionary duty

[15:58] He said it gave him spiritual tranquility so that he could better fulfill the high obligations thrust upon him by history She said her stepfather often invited an unknown third party in she said even after she was married in 1990 He the president 52 years old at the time and a father of eight children would call her for phone sex Claiming it was still her revolutionary duty According to the 48 page document. He continued making sexual propositions to her for years in the affidavit Mrs. Nervaris daughter of Ortega's longtime wife who is vice president of Nicaragua now Rosario Muiro She detailed dozens of years of sexual abuse She said that began when she was 11 a year before the Sandinista Revolution toppled the Nicaraguan

[16:47] Dictator samosa in 1979 she said many times along the way she intended to press charges But changed her mind after a series of attacks by Sandinista officials calling her mentally deranged She said no one can speak against mr Ortega the president in his own country because he's still the revolutionary hero and president She said also in the affidavit The sexual abuse began when she was 11 living with Ortega the president and her mother in guerrilla camps in neighboring, Costa Rica during the final stages of the santa nista war against samosa She said all of the acts were forced. It was without my pleasure or consent this I swear So then what finally came of it? Well, you know Cornell Law School has a legal information Institute. You can look it up

[17:34] It says and I'm looking up the case right now. It says mrs. Zola America Now that is boy, though suffered physical sexual rape and harassment abuse and Psychological violence by her adoptive father Mr. Daniel Ortega Savara, mr. Ortega was deputy and Nicaragua's National Assembly and then president He is protected by congressional immunity from all charges against him and the case brought against him by the International American Commission on Human Rights The IACHR was held in 2001 turns out on June 9 2009 She sent a communication to the Human Rights Commission saying there was a settlement in other words. He paid her off And she subsequently withdrew the lawsuit against the state of Nicaragua and Ortega But even years later in 2021 from her exile in Costa Rica

[18:22] She condemned her stepfather during the Nicaraguan general election Now for anybody who thinks this case is without merit and she just did it for the money. You ought to see that 2019 Documentary film on the subject called exiled Exhilada in espanol Isn't it funny though last time I talked to my gringo friends living in Nicaragua They said no Nicaraguan is willing to talk about that case However, when you talk to Nicaraguans who've left the country most all of them believe it's true Of course, this is old old news. No one remembers it anymore water under the bridge. So then why bring it up? Just to point out that many many Latin American presidents in fact Presidents of all kinds in first world countries to our dirty ass scumbags with the most recent

[19:12] Presidential or ex-presidential scumbag to rear his ugly head Bolivia's own evil Morales. You remember him? Yep. There are new and old pervert Accusations against him popping up in the Latin American news just this week now I don't expect they'll report on it in the first world media, but down here it's been breaking all week But first, let's refresh your memory about one evil Morales or how about just evil Morales? president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019 widely regarded as the country's first president to come from the indigenous population Ideologically a socialist has led the movement for socialism M-a-s party since 1998 So then what are the recent revelations about ex-president of Bolivia evil Morales?

[20:01] Let's see what the Latin American Spanish newspapers and news services are saying this one is from the pan-american post in Spanish I'll translate headline says there are three more episodes linking former president evil Morales having sex with minors It starts out by saying it's worth asking two important questions here How many times has evil Morales been accused of crimes involving minor girls and why is he not in jail? Once again, I'll paraphrase this and cut out the boring parts It says ex-president of Bolivia evil Morales returned to the front pages of Latin American newspapers after a revelation was made of Yet another affair with a teenage girl since 2016 Morales former president and former leader of the coca growers Union

[20:47] You know, he himself was an ex-coca grower before he became president Anyway, it says evil Morales has been the subject of several accusations of rape There are now new accusations of human smuggling and trafficking Linked to sexual violence against yet another minor It says this is a truly grotesque pattern of behavior But that does not seem to bother the ex-president and he even boasts about it as in 2008 when he declared I once said that I'll finish my years in office with abundant coca leaves and A 15 year old it goes on to say the new investigations into Morales this time took another turn a turn that cost Sandra Gutierrez her job She was the prosecutor in charge of human trafficking rape and sexual abuse cases in Bolivia

[21:37] Turns out after she issued an arrest warrant for his capture It was reported that his defense team filed a motion to free him the Attorney General won Lucippa personal friend of Morales surprise surprise Halted the investigation So it says crony ism and loyalties to the past play an important role here So then what are the details of this most recent case? Well, it turns out a young girl named Cindy V. No last name She has a birth certificate for her child registered and recognized by evil Morales as the dad according to the birth certificate in hospital Documents the mother of the child was a minor at the time of conception pregnancy gestation and the birth of the baby

[22:22] Turns out she was part of a youth guard organization made up of people aged 14 and 15 That was how she met then president Morales He says prior to the present scandal. There was another one in 2020 Here to the person linked to Morales was an underage girl turns out the Bolivian police Started an investigation after an official government vehicle with false license plates 3151-gah Was stopped and searched there were three people in the vehicle. One was Naomi menses her sister and a third-person Whatsapp conversations between her and Evo Morales took place at that very moment According to what was revealed by Spanish media. Ok, Diario investigators found that the two Evo and the girl

[23:11] Had been having a romantic relationship for five years She was only 14 years old and still a minor when it started. They obtained that from what's up messages. Hmm In those what's up messages. It was confirmed. They were intimate boyfriend and girlfriend There were also intimate photos and conversations of a sexual nature found on what's up. Hmm. What's up again, huh? I told you about what's up. In addition to that there were 348 missed calls from Morales to her and Many photographs of the two at the presidential personal quarters Likewise airline and police reports indicate the young woman traveled three times to meet Evo in both Mexico and Argentina She was a minor at the time before that scandal came another in 2016

[23:59] Gabriel Sepatas came to light the woman presented herself as the mother of Evo Morales's son as proof She had the child's birth certificate, which she indicated had been taken from her earlier By president Morales with his argument being that if the baby ever needed medical treatment He'd be able to arrange it turns out miss about that was also part of that youth movement That's how they maintain their relationship The birth certificate and hospital documents revealed she was 17 when she was pregnant In fact, Evo Morales actually admitted Senorita Zapata was his partner since 2005 and that in 2007 they also had a baby that was stillborn Which brings us to that question again? How many times has Evo Morales been accused of crimes involving minors? And why is he not in prison?

[24:50] Why is he not in jail? Alright me Johnny here. That's a small sample of what's been showing up in Latin America media sources Stuff that just never seems to break into the first world media It does sort of highlight the fact though that Latin American politicians are just as unprincipled just as sociopathic as Politicians up in the States behind the scenes. They're snakes and when people find out and the truth is revealed They're still treated as celebrities and heroes and there are no serious consequences. Nothing happens They are good at one or two things though Like for example stealing taxpayers money and hiding out in my jammy though once in a while once in a great great while the stars align

[25:37] Some real amazingly different leaders come around like for example El Salvador's Bukelli and Argentina's Malay Proof it does happen, but only about once every 50 years the rest are sociopathic thieves and shit for brains You've heard me say many times only in Latin America, right speaking of businesses that could only exist in Latin America Because they'd never allow them up in the States How about this for an eye-opener or maybe you wouldn't want to open your eyes if you saw it Turns out there's a company in Mexico known as pro and PR. Oh and it's the world's largest producer of chicken eggs Sold under the brand name of huevos San Juan all located in one little town in Mexico called

[26:24] San Juan de los Lagos in Harisco town of 70,000 yeah 70,000 that's a small town 50 million chickens 70,000 people Sounds pretty lopsided doesn't it would you want to live work or even visit a place like that? They say if you're lost and out of the boonies can't find your bearings just close your eyes and follow the smell Now as for me since about a couple years ago when the supermarkets down here started offering Organically raised chickens and eggs from free-range chickens. I've stuck strictly to buying those of course They're more expensive anything organic or without pesticides hormones or additives It's bizarre logic right ass backwards You pay more for a product when they add less anyway

[27:11] Just saying you can't yet organically raised chickens and eggs from free-range chickens So you won't have to buy that mass-produced garbage from sickly chickens like huevos San Juan I've seen those chicken farms the chickens are so fat they can't even stand up on their own two feet Hmm, it reminds me of more than a few gringos. I know and one of them unfortunately is my brother You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype console Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week long expat insider seminar in Central America Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com