Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the unique aspects of expat life in Latin America, covering a range of topics from gym culture to construction defects and the complexities of the tax system. Johnny shares his personal experiences and observations, providing a comprehensive look at the challenges and nuances of living in the region.
Johnny begins by discussing the prevalence of gyms in residential towers across Latin America, noting that around 80% of them have designated gym rooms with good equipment. However, he highlights the irony that these gyms are often pristine and unused, with residents rarely using them. Johnny prefers home workouts and has never had a gym membership, despite receiving free memberships as perks. He also shares his experience with buying used exercise equipment on Latin American Craigslist, emphasizing the importance of choosing well-known brands for easier access to parts. He notes the challenges of maintaining equipment in the humid climate of Latin America, which can lead to rust and deterioration.
Next, Johnny discusses common construction defects in Latin American buildings, highlighting issues like lack of electrical outlets, poor natural light, subpar plumbing, and insufficient storage space. He emphasizes that while these problems are frustrating for expats, many Latinos are more forgiving and adaptable. Johnny also touches on the growing trend of gym culture in the region, noting the variety of gyms from budget-friendly to high-end options.
In another segment, Johnny explores the fitness culture in Latin America, particularly at gyms. He observes that many men are well-built in the upper body but often have pot bellies, which he attributes to junk food and the proximity of fast-food chains to gyms. He also comments on the stereotype of gringos (expats from the U.S.) having skinny legs and no butt, which he contrasts with the more muscular Latin American men. Johnny mentions a theory by expat Eddie about why gringos wear shorts in Latin America, suggesting it's due to their acclimatization to the heat. He also touches on the cultural perception of gringos among Latinas, who often find them attractive despite their physique. Johnny contrasts this with the gym culture in the U.S., where there are discussions about men being inappropriate around women working out, which he finds absurd. He concludes by noting that in Latin America, going to the gym is more about being seen and admired, and that many women only join gyms once they're already in shape.
In another segment, Johnny discusses the dynamics of gym culture and the treatment of women in fitness environments, particularly in Latin America. He shares a story about a woman who tried to avoid unwanted attention at a high-end gym but still faced persistent advances from men. He then shifts to a broader commentary on how men, especially in Latin America, approach women in social settings, often with little creativity or subtlety. Johnny also addresses the topic of sweatshops in Latin America, explaining that while they still exist, particularly in the Guatemalan altiplano, they are not as prevalent as in other regions due to factors like climate, labor laws, and economic conditions. He highlights the contrast between sweatshops in Latin America and those in China, noting the impact of minimum wage laws and trade policies on the industry.
Finally, Johnny discusses the complexities of tax systems and product tagging in Latin America. He highlights how products are tagged multiple times as they move through different countries, which is a form of tax avoidance. He then shifts to discussing tax amnesty programs in Latin America, noting that while these programs exist, they are often ineffective, and large corporations and even political figures often evade taxes without facing consequences. Johnny also comments on the broader implications of such corruption, suggesting that it's a systemic issue in the region.
Episode Notes
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the unique aspects of expat life in Latin America. From the prevalence of unused gym facilities to the challenges of construction defects and the complexities of the tax system, Johnny shares his personal experiences and insights. This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering moving to or living in Latin America.
For more episodes, seminar information, resources, and the full archive, visit ExpatPlanB.com.
Keep exploring
Related guides: Moving to Guatemala · Cost of Living in Latin America · Residency in Latin America · Renting and Buying Property
Related episodes
Search the full episode archiveBrowse practical guidesExplore the Expat Insider SeminarAsk about a consultation
Topics
Gym culture in Latin America, Home workouts and gym memberships, Buying used exercise equipment, Maintenance challenges in humid climates, Construction defects in Latin America, Cultural adaptation and tolerance for living conditions, Fitness culture in Latin America, Perceptions of gringos and expats, Gym culture in the U.S. vs. Latin America, Stereotypes and body image, Gym culture and unwanted attention, Behavior of men in Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:01:02 The Prevalence of Gyms in Residential Towers in Latin America 00:01:48 The Irony of Unused Gym Equipment in Residential Towers 00:02:57 Buying Used Exercise Equipment on Latin American Craigslist 00:05:18 The Impact of Humidity on Exercise Equipment and Other Materials 00:06:22 Common Construction Defects in Latin America 00:10:37 Gym Culture in Latin America 00:11:56 The Cost of Fitness in Latin America 00:11:59 The Aesthetic of Fitness in Latin America 00:12:05 The Role of Workout Clothes in Fitness Culture 00:12:09 The Contrast Between Men and Women in Fitness 00:12:13 The Pot Belly Phenomenon 00:12:20 The Muscular Upper Body and Its Discrepancy 00:12:27 The Incongruity of Muscles and Pot Bellies 00:12:32 The Appeal of Loose Clothing in Fitness Culture 00:17:34 Introduction to the Gym Experience 00:17:36 The High-End Gym and Its Challenges 00:18:11 Discussion on Gender Dynamics and Attention 00:19:15 Transition to the Sweatshop Discussion 00:19:36 Sweatshops in Latin America 00:20:39 Conclusion on Sweatshops and Labor Conditions 00:23:18 Product Tagging and Tax Avoidance in Latin America 00:23:49 Tax Amnesty Programs in Latin America 00:26:11 Corruption and Tax Evasion in Latin America
Transcript
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 as I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the ex-pad 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 Here's a question for you. Do you go to the gym? That is do you actually have a gym membership? I mean look the first step to getting in shape is to get a gym membership, right? But that doesn't mean you're actually gonna go to the gym There are a million ways to get in shape without a gym, but the gym is the first choice, right?
[00:50] By the way, the last show we were talking about Residential towers and how some of them have gyms, you know for all the residents and you're gonna pay for that in your maintenance fee Actually down here in Latin America. It's pretty common I'd say maybe even 80% of residential towers have a separate designated gym room with lots of equipment sometimes really good equipment, too It's funny too. How when you're looking to rent a place in a residential tower, you know, someone will take you through You know real estate guy landlord, whatever They're just so delighted to show you how cool it is that they have a gym And when you walk in almost always the equipment's pristine because no one uses it At least in the residential tower gyms that I've seen and I've seen a lot Over the years. I've rented lots of apartments short-term and once they hand over the keys. You've got permission to use a gym
[01:42] Anyway, it just amazes me that they put so much emphasis on that gym when they're trying to rent you a place there Yet you almost never see residents using it as for me. I'm pretty big on daily exercise. I hate going to the gym I don't have a gym membership. I never have Even though over the years due to my radio work. I've had some free gym memberships, you know as perks People think I'm nuts when I tell them I had a free membership at Gold's gym for four years And I never used it. Not once the fact is for me. I just don't like exercising around groups of sweaty people I prefer to have a few exercise machines of my own around the house Alternating days with an hour of power walking out on the street By the way, if you're like me and you want to have an exercise machine or two at home
[02:30] Treadmill workout bench, whatever sure you could go to Costco or some sports store and buy one pretty expensive down here For a decent one. Anyway, you know, there are a lot of cheap pieces of junk out there with exercise equipment You really do get what you pay for but if you really want to get a decent treadmill, you're gonna pay at least a grant Anyway, I've been through a lot of treadmills in the stationary bikes, etc And I've learned a few things. So here's a tip or two in the last couple of places I've lived I bought my exercise machines used But in really great sometimes even perfect condition off of in cuentral venti cuatro calm That's the Latin American Craigslist site You can find all kinds of exercise machines and equipment on that site From professional models to as seen on TV pure junk
[03:20] You know how people are a guy or gal gets way out of shape starts gaining weight Gets the itch to buy something like a treadmill Then after three or four months and it's predictable they quit using it and starts gathering dust It ends up as an expensive dusty coat rack Eventually making its way to that Latin American Craigslist, which is a good thing for people like me Now the treadmill I'm using right now is a model that did initially come from Costco, you know price mark down here It's from a well-known exercise machine company proform My advice is to get a well-known brand cuz then you'll be able to get parts. Otherwise forget about it On that note, I looked at a really high-end Italian brand great machine, but never heard of the brand before Where are you gonna get parts in Latin America for an Italian treadmill?
[04:09] No matter how well the things built by the way, the last machine I had I repaired it three times myself If you use a lot at least a couple of times a week, it's gonna break down So keep that brand name thing in mind cuz you're gonna need parts eventually Anyway, last treadmill I bought was a proform And if you go to Costco which is price mark down here, you can get that very same machine for around 1200 bucks I bought mine used on that Latino Craigslist site for 500 They wanted 800 but I waved 500 cash in front of them. They took it Oh and the big fat guy who sold it to me even dropped it off at my place in his big black Mercedes SUV I never expected that I figure his wife saw he was using it and was bitching at him to get it out of there By the way, I looked at three or four different treadmills before I settled on that one
[04:56] The others were hardly used either, but they were kind of rusting away you see this is Latin America the tropics lots of humidity rainy season and all that and Anything that's unpainted steel is subject to rust and lots of people You know don't get around to selling their rarely used exercise equipment for years and years And if it sits around too long, it's gonna deteriorate. It's gonna rust That's one of the untold stories here in Latin America things rust rapidly things made of steel, of course Including nails and fasteners and screws you'll see that soon enough once you get down here people don't talk about it They just accept it. That's just the way it is here The other thing that people rarely mention because they're used to it It's just a way of life is that tropical climates wreak havoc on leather and fake leather clothing
[05:45] The fact is during the rainy season you could poke around the closet of practically anyone and find deteriorating belts coats Shoes and the whips and chains in your S&M collection if that's what you're into the only way around it is to have that stuff in an air-conditioned location or a Space that's nicely ventilated But still it'll be a headache because down here in Latin America You'll find they're very short on closet space and Latinos love to over pack their tiny closets Once you get down here It won't take you long to notice there are four major defects in almost every Latin American construction project Whether it's house apartment residential tower. They've all got the same four defects number one They're always short on electrical outlets
[06:31] Everyone and I mean everyone has a collection of those outlets strips Every hardware store down here stocks a zillion of those things Why do you think that is and why do you think that somehow contractors never take the hit? So that's number one Latino construction projects are always short on electrical outlet Number two construction projects are always a short on natural light Which always contributes to the mold mildew and humidity problem? We've spoken about solutions to that on previous shows Number three nearly every Latin American construction project has shitty plumbing ie undersized drainage tubes and cheap Chinese faucets and drains it blows my mind even high-end projects with real marble or granite countertops
[07:17] Have cheap flimsy stainless steel sinks and wobbly Chinese faucets And I don't recall ever being in a Latin American shower stall Even in an expensive high-end project where the drain didn't run as slow as molasses In fact, I can't tell you how many times I'd be taking a shower in a really nice place in Nice Latin American hotels to where by the time I'm finished the water has creeped up past my ankles man I'm telling you that's a nasty feeling and finally common Latin American building defect number four extreme lack of closet and storage space Fact is I don't think I've ever stuck my head into a Latin American closet where it wasn't just absolutely jam-packed with shit Not because Latinos have so much extra spare stuff remember we're talking about the third world here
[08:04] I'm like Americans people are not perpetual collectors of junk. They're not hoarders by nature. They haven't got much to hoard But still that's no excuse for the chronically deficient closet space you see everywhere Same thing with garages. In fact, it's even worse in garages You know how in the states people have cabinets and bins and shelves and storage space above the car Seems in Latin America when people do have garages not only do they completely skimp on storage space They skimp on the dimensions of the garage itself funny how down here garage doors Don't seem to have any kind of standard size It's as if every contractor and builder had it in his mind that the owner is gonna be Driving a Volkswagen Beetle or a Mini Cooper once you get in it could be such a tight squeeze that you could barely get
[08:53] In and out of the door without banging it against the wall, but Latinos don't complain That's just the way it is. They live with it. The fact is in general Latinos are not complainers at all They're very forgiving for things that scringles and expats might blow our stack over Oftentimes Latinos don't even notice a lot of it You could just chuck up to the personal space thing, you know, I scringles and expats We like a lot of personal space. We grew up with it We're used to big garages lots of storage space wide streets and boulevards expansive parking lots elevators that hold ten people not to We're used to trash compactors garbage disposals and vacuum cleaners not to mention We're used to drains that work and toilets that don't always need a courtesy flush
[09:40] Now however bad nitpicky or critical this might sound I say don't let it get you down because the good news is You'll certainly notice all these things and they will bother you to one degree or another But being that you're a first-world gringo and you know what you like, you know what you can live with you could absolutely avoid all those problems completely by building or remodeling your living space to your own standards first world standards standards You're comfortable with that's what I've always done However, if you have feel like going native a bit if you're not bothered by slow drains lack of electrical outlets fine You'll fit right in and be very happy down here. However, if that kind of stuff great, Sonya You don't have to lower your standards. Don't despair. There are easy fixes
[10:25] Put in more outlets get new faucets build some closets install some skylights Don't wind spend a few bucks and shore things up to your standards or not to each his own Oh and speaking of working out at the gym if that's your thing, you know The gym rat life is becoming quite a thing down here in Latin America now that everyone's got fake muscles fake abs fake boobs fake everything on dick cock and Instacrat and Since everyone's got a fake filtered presence on social media as a result more and more people don't like what they look like in real life So they're going to the gym and just like housing and cars and everything else with gyms. There's good better and best Depending on neighborhood convenience and affordability now, I've mentioned a couple of times a week
[11:11] I do a five-mile power walk and on that walk. I pass three different gyms good better and best One of them a hole-in-the-wall little place where everything's sort of ragtag and ratty where the membership runs about 15 bucks a month I also routinely pass a middle of the road gym and a tiny strip mall a little nicer location better parking a Little newer more maintained equipment, etc, etc Membership dues 20 bucks a month. Then there's the high-end gym a lot bigger more Well-appointed two doors down from a Starbucks Always a few bodyguards and late model SUVs in front of the place cleaner nicer bathrooms even smells better membership dues
[11:56] 35 bucks a month and Man, I'll tell you that's where the beautiful people go to be seen most all of them with just the right color Coordinated workout duds the real thing, you know adidas Nike Puma And though most all the ladies seem to be in pretty good shape Not so much the guys though funny thing most all of them the men that is have a small medium or large pot belly Though the really amazing thing is that most guys are very well built in the shoulders arms and neck area You know muscles that would look good on any guy except they've got these pot bellies hanging out So a lot of them if not most of them look really good in sort of loose clothes But you know some guys wear tight fitting workout clothes and that reveals all
[12:42] And another thing I've noticed the guys that are in really good shape The ones that really are pretty ripped and don't have much of a pot belly Almost all of them. I'd say at least 90% of them anyway have spindly beanpole legs I don't know if it's just a Latin American guy thing But down here the guys work the hell out of their thighs butts upper torso arms shoulders So it looks kind of strange guys with these nice full-cut bodies on beanpole legs I think maybe someone ought to put the word out, but it's not gonna be me Oh and about that small medium and large pot belly thing. I know what that's all about junk food They've got a Burger King a Pizza Hut and a Starbucks all within 500 paces of the gym By the way expat Eddie's got a theory about that spindly leg thing
[13:31] He said Johnny if you notice it's only gringles and expats who wear shorts down here in Latin America We're noted for that. He says if you're paying attention Latin American guys only wear shorts when they're at the beach Unlike us gringles and expats from up north Latin Americans are used to the heat. They're acclimatized So they wear long pants all the time He said if you noticed even the gym rats the guys that work out all the time most of them never wear shorts They're wearing Nike Adidas or Puma workout pants So it's out of sight out of mind if people aren't gonna see your legs. Why put in the time and effort I don't know. It's just a theory of Eddie's sounds as good as any now Of course some guys are born with muscular legs and butts not many though Only that small percentage of guys who got lucky in the gene pool and speaking of stereotypes, you know
[14:19] practically every Latina I've ever known When the subject of fitness form and physique comes up They'll always have a positive opinion about gringos by the way They don't mind at all a guy who's a little overweight The stereotype for Latina girls is that gringos are tall white blonde handsome and have nice teeth However, we've got skinny legs and no butt and you know when I was living back in the States up in Chicago many years ago I never thought about that Not until I first came down here and started hearing Latinas mentioning After hearing that so many times from Latinas, I couldn't help but notice They were absolutely right at least about the skinny legs and the no butt thing Of course when you get into a conversation like that with a Latina You have to ask the obvious question. Do you find that bad? Is it a turn off that skinny leg and no butt thing and every last one of them will smile or laugh and say it's not
[15:11] Even a consideration and just by the way, they say it, you know They truly mean it which was certainly a relief for me to hear since I've got skinny legs and practically nothing in the butt department By the way, speaking of gyms and girls who work out I understand there's a lot of talk going around up in the States about a problem at gyms where guys are being put on notice Not to approach women working out not to smile or look more than a second or two in their direction Not to offer to spot for them when they're lifting weights, etc. Etc. Because I've been told just recently Those are considered by modern American women to be sexual microaggressions Man, if that's not reason the six thousand two hundred and forty six seven eight and nine to get the hell out of dodge I don't know what to tell you now
[15:56] I can't comment about what's happening at the gyms up in the States But I can tell you what's happening down here, even though I don't belong to a gym down here. I can tell you Every Latino guy I know who has a gym membership tells me that's one of the main reasons They join to meet look at and flirt with women and believe me all the Latinas here at the gyms know that and They're dressed to kill too because working it out for them It is a competitive sport part of the reason they go to the gym is to be looked at and admired Which is probably why you see so few really out of shape women at the gym here In fact more than one Latina has told me you don't sign up for the gym unless you're already looking pretty good In other words if you're out of shape and tipping the scales a bit too much and you want to go to the gym
[16:43] You'll want to get into the gym rad thing. You first get into shape at home or by biking or jogging in the park Then when you're looking pretty good or fairly good already, that's when you join the gym And oh zimpic. I don't know anybody down here. Who's on it. It's too expensive There seems to be an actual progression of events right of passage to join the gym for ladies anyway because they know Going to the gym is like going out dancing at the discos There's gonna be lots of competition and you better be primed and ready for now Of course there are always exceptions to that rule like in the case of my Latina girlfriend She joined a brand new upscale gym that was in a new shopping center Hoping the upscale guys from that neighborhood would be more respectful and she'd get less attention She's the type that goes to the gym just to stay fit not to compete or get hit on her line of thinking was everything's brand
[17:34] New it's gonna be a very nice place Priced on the high end to keep up the riff raff, you know, the gold tooth blinged out regga toneros, etc, etc She said it did keep them out. All right Except the guys still just kept on staring at her and hitting on her and talking to her Rushing over to help spot her when she's lifting weights So she went back to using the stationary bike and the treadmill at home She lasted about two months in that gym She threw in the towel and gave up but like she said there are very few girls at the gym who don't like the attention That's all part of the game and the competition is severe Now when I did have that discussion with my Latina girlfriend I did put her on the spot. I just had to I Said isn't it funny though? How when a studly good-looking guy approaches a girl if she's not interested
[18:23] She'll be polite and turn him down with a smile But if an ugly blinged out regga tonero approaches her she'll be snidey or abrupt and give the tag her eyes Not that he doesn't deserve it, but you get the point just saying Humans are strange, but predictable aren't they? So anyway, all you gringo listeners out there. What do you got to say about this? I'd like to know from you firsthand. What's happening at the gyms up in the States if You truly do believe there's that sexual microaggression crap going on I tell you you're not gonna do very well down here in Latin America I'll tell you Latino guys have no shame They're persistent and ruthless about hitting on the ladies though with zero creativity and super stale pickup lines Are you ready for that cuz when you come down that will happen to you?
[19:10] And at the gym in those yoga pants or Nike tights look out. It's even worse Speaking of sweat. How about this email from Carolyn? She says Johnny I was wondering do they still have sweat shops in Latin America was big news a while back. Not now though No more special reports with undercover cameras last I heard she said most of that seems to be going on in China with iPhones What's the story in Latin America? Well, Carolyn For a long time now, I've had gringle friends who owned so-called sweatshops in Latin America, mostly the altiplano of Guatemala I've been in those places many times and guess what? They're not sweatshops because in the altiplano the weather's so nice. All I have to do is ventilate the places and no one really sweats By the way, that's why so many sweatshops picked up and moved from their previous locations in Honduras, Jamaica
[20:00] Panama to the Guatemalan altiplano I was told by my Makila owner friends Makila's our sweatshops I was told that when you set up shop in the altiplano, you know 5,000 feet or above It's so damn comfortable for the workers that they get about 30% more productivity out of them Whereas for example in Honduras where most of the country's at or near sea level when you set up a sweatshop It's always hovering around 90 degrees inside and in those factories. The only place to see air conditioning is in the boss's office It's just too damn expensive to put AC in those big factories. So they just never do it. So yes, Caroline They still have so-called sweatshops in Latin America. Lots and lots of them in the Guatemalan altiplano Though a little by little they had been closing down and moving to places like Vietnam where the workers get paid one or two bucks an hour
[20:52] Instead of in Guatemala where the unions have come in and the government has pushed up the minimum wage to around three bucks an hour So again, it's all about the money and you know governments for votes will pass minimum wage legislation Which eventually can kill a whole industry There are numerous examples of that By the way If you're one of those who thinks working in a sweatshop is inhumane and that the sweatshop owners are slave-driving brutes Did you know just a few years ago the New York Times did a story on the working conditions of Foxconn fo X Conn, it's a massive Taiwanese electronics manufacturer a giant sweatshop The conditions they said were atrocious. New York Times readers were rightly upset by the way I hate the New York Times, but this is worth a read thing is there were many reader responses to this article
[21:43] Like the following one written by the nephew of one of those Chinese factory workers He said quote my aunt worked for several years in what Americans call sweat shops It was hard work. All right long hours small wages poor working conditions And the American would cringe if he had to work there two bucks an hour Do you know what my aunt did before she worked in one of those sweatshop factories? Before the so-called sweatshops came to town and there were no other options. She was a prostitute Yes factory work is hard terrible labor, but only when you compare such labor to American factory jobs He said hmm speaking of sweatshops. Here's a little tidbit of info I picked up along the way once I asked one of my Makila owning buddies
[22:30] I said how come when you buy a t-shirt pair of pants socks underwear pillowcases, whatever They've got at least six or seven labels or tags attached sometimes in such a big bunch They irritate your neck or your backside and you have to cut them off Never used to be like that. There used to be one tag and that's it Well, guess what one of my Makila owning buddies explained that to me. He said we don't want to do that It's extra work for us, but you can thank the government's for that He said they put all these weird ass trade laws into effect and it's all about the money For example in Pakistan, they tax the import of raw cloth So we ship them the shirt cutouts and they don't get taxed. They put on the buttons and Ship the goods to Vietnam where they don't tax garments with pockets
[23:18] Then the garments shipped to me here in Guatemala where we put in the shoulder pads They don't tax shoulder pads here So he said by the time you get your underwear your dress shirt or your sports jacket It's been shipped in and out of five different countries and each one of them has to put its tag on with materialist country of origin Product number lot details, etc. All in the name of tax avoidance So if you want to know how many countries your butt-lift jeans have been through just count the number of annoying tags Attached to them and you'll know Alright, let's revisit a subject that needs revisiting tax amnesty. Yep here in Latin America Every country has its version of the IRS, but they don't have an enforcement branch No IRS agents making house calls or SWAT teams to bust down your door
[24:04] Tell me that's not a good reason in itself to get the hell out of Dodge and move down here And you know down here like everywhere else people just hate paying their taxes and since there is no law enforcement arm Certain people in corporations just delay payment as long as they can and then after a certain number of years The government will get so desperate. They'll set up an amnesty program. I've seen it dozens of times myself regarding property taxes Suddenly a big sign will pop up on one of the big highways. It says Good news You've got to the end of the month to pay up your delinquent property taxes if you do There'll be no penalties or extra fees But still most of the time people don't pay up the only time you really have to pay your property taxes here in Latin America as if you sell your house or your business real estate or property
[24:51] You won't be able to get clear title to do the sale unless you're paid up. In fact with one property I think I hadn't paid my property taxes in eight years. I But what about businesses especially big businesses down here in Latin America with lots of employees Well, they don't like paying their taxes either and thus the government has amnesty programs for them, too In fact, I'm looking right now in El Mucudio Ecuador's biggest newspaper It says with only 22 days left on our latest amnesty program that suspends the late payments and fines and penalties Only 300 million of the expected 900 million in revenue has been collected that according to Ecuador's internal revenue Service SRI now normally I wouldn't even be bringing this up except for the following
[25:40] It says in this article of the 10 largest tax debtors The internal revenue service says only one liquor distributor. The court is nationalis has paid all of its arrears Three of the biggest debtors who are years behind on their tax payments are Moby star That's the big internet company collateral That's the biggest internet company and Baker Hughes services. They've all Subsequently made small partial payments, but still owe millions in back taxes So that should give you an idea how disorganized things are down in Latin America And that's a good thing for us Imagine that the two biggest internet companies in the country owe millions in back taxes and they don't even get their hands slapped But here's the real kicker. It says
[26:26] Among the largest tax debtors who have not made payments at all is the Noboa trading company Ecuador's largest banana exporting firm owned by President Daniel Noboa's father Alvera Noba the company owes over 90 million in severely delinquent back taxes Hmm. Let's see Ecuador's president's father's banana business is a criminal tax dodger. I think I know what's gonna happen Nothing He'll be on the same list next year in the year after that in the year after that Now, of course when his son the president is no longer in office They might actually go after him at which he'll be forced to hole up like a fugitive in his 10 million dollar estate And guess where my jammy I kind of get what he's thinking though
[27:13] Why should I give a single dollar to my thoroughly corrupt country run by my thoroughly corrupt son? It's funny. I used to end massive corruption stories like this with phrase only in Latin America Well, I was wrong the US Congress is a thousand times more corrupt and they're always getting away with it, too 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 consult 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. No spamos