#439 – The Expat Files: Navigating Latin America’s Media, Politics, and Culture

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 expat 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 Okay, now just a little explanation about what's happening at the big flagship station PRN Since I got a lot of emails last week saying that the site was down or had been hacked or whatever So just a few words on that Then I'll have some words about my expat wisdom website which posts all the shows also

[00:50] I'm sure all you guys and gals who get it there have noticed that it requires a password now To get the shows. So why is that? Well, here's the story The two things are somewhat related Like I said, you might have noticed that the flagship PRN station out of New York was hacked very hard and actually Taken down for a few days in the fourth week of February and as I record this show today It's still not at a hundred percent now from what I've heard This was a very organized hacker attack that came immediately after a groundbreaking five-hour broadcast and expose about government and big Pharmacy cover-ups in the medical and vaccine industries note the PRN site is partially back up now But if you go there at PRN FM or progressive radio network calm

[01:36] You'll see in bold letters just how they got hit now note that this kind of organized hacking crap is affecting all of us Alternative radio guys and gals and it's bound to get worse. I mean, come on Why wouldn't uncle Sam and big brother want to shut us all down all us radio podcast guys who just refused to put out that pre digested media shite and Then there's Richard Martin and guys like me telling you twice a week to pack up soon and get the hell out of the first world Or suffer the consequences dire consequences to be sure that said let's talk some more about this show The expat files living in Latin America, you know, they're all pre-recorded, right? Well, I usually record my shows a few days before they broadcast on the big station PRN in New York

[02:23] And by the way, the PRN station and network out of New York is the biggest most listened to radio and podcast station in the world for your information they get get this over 20 million hits a week and Occasionally they get up to 20 million hits in a single day that means 20 million people going to the website and clicking on one show or another or Downloading reports or whatever now to those of you who get my show elsewhere and have never been to the PRN website You'll see that there's some 50 plus shows there covering all kinds of progressive and very cool topics And believe me when I tell you it really is edgy Alternative radio and honestly if I was king of the world or head of an oppressive jackbooted government

[03:12] I'd probably want to shut it down, too And by the way, a lot of people ask me what shows I listen to and there's really only three shows slash Podcasts that I listen to religiously one the Gary Nall show Which is by far the most popular show on PRN And I think if you're not listening to his show you're short changing yourself really and I listen religiously to Richard Martin's show The wake-up call also on PRN and I know for some people he's an acquired taste because he's got that heavy British Accent just like some Americans can't get used to watching British films I guess some people can't listen to a show whose host has a heavy British accent either that never bothered me But then again, I lived in the UK for three years So I can understand those people who speak American with a funny accent

[04:00] That said do give Richard Martin and his wake-up call show a chance after you've heard a few shows You'll know what I mean. So along with Gary Nall and Richard Martin I listened to a really amazing guy named John B Wells who's got a podcast called Caravan to midnight that you have to subscribe to for I think it's 60 bucks a year Now you gotta love this guy He was on the biggest AM radio station in the world coast to coast AM for two or three years and they tried to censor him When he'd bring on anonymous guests and whistleblowers, etc so he got in a fight with management and got fired and started his own podcast now and Believe me now that he's got his own podcast show It was like taking the leash off the doberman not that he's crude or gross or insulting far from it

[04:48] He's in fact what I'd call an intellectual in wolves clothing And he continues to have some of the greatest guests I've ever heard Many of them anonymous and they have to remain so or they'd surely be disappeared or end up as ground taco meat But as for me in this show, anyway like I said I usually get my shows up on the expat wisdom website a few days before their broadcast and archived at the big station PRN and as some of you might know you can also get my program at Podbean.com and stitcher and iTunes etc And of course a lot of people get my show from expat wisdom calm my website because they get it a couple of days Earlier than everybody else plus they get it at a much higher bit rate

[05:34] That means high fidelity which people say noticeably adds a kind of a rich very white James Earl Jones kind of timber to my voice. Don't you think? Come on now be nice Anyway, that said at expat wisdom calm We recently noticed a very high level of downloads from IP addresses with dodgy aliases even alphabet agencies as well as the usual Chinese and Russian downloaders and spammers go figure and All this action is starting to overload our servers Plus we really only want to share this expat info with those of you guys and gals out there who are really serious about it

[06:26] So from now on we'll just need to password protect the shows coming out at expat wisdom calm course They'll still be free. Just sign up on the home page and we'll send you an email immediately with the passwords And if you're having any problems at all with the password stuff just address your email to info at expat wisdom calm in care of Sandra she'll straighten it out for you So understand with all those crazy ass Russians and Chinese and alphabet agencies and hacksters out there We just had to do it at least for now. Anyway again for those passwords Just send an email to info at expat wisdom calm in care of Sandra now I'm not lying when I say that some days I get more than 500 spam emails and luckily I know enough not to open the ones that have a subject line that starts out

[07:16] by saying something like hello, my dearest Johnny or Dear heart or dear good friend or my dearest friend because I don't have any of those and I know all those are coming From spammers in the India or China and as for that 11 billion dollars of mine somehow hung up in a bank in Nigeria Well, I'd like to thank mr Kim be kinta rash who so kindly alerts me about every other day that all he needs is my bank account numbers and my wire Transfer information that said bear with us a little bit on this hacking spamming and new password thing. We'll get through it We always do. Okay. Here's some late-breaking news for you Especially all you guys and gals who are thinking about Nicaragua just this Friday Nicaragua's illustrious perverted president Daniel Ortega announced or I should say decreed

[08:04] Because it was a presidential decree an immediate minimum wage increase to the tune of about 11% Hiking it from get this $159 a month to now $176 a month now, isn't it funny that these minimum wage hikes always seem to come around right before election? Yeah, right now that said I'm not arguing that the minimum wage isn't pathetically low Beyond the joke really here's what you probably didn't know more than half of the adult population of Nicaragua makes the minimum wage So all it really isn't ever was was about the ruling party getting votes And you see if you force a minimum wage increase like that the ruling party doesn't actually have to dig into the public coffers and buy happy meals and t-shirts and bus rides and

[08:54] Baseball caps. Oh, and let's not forget those sacks of rice and flour with the party slogan on them that were previously warehoused Donations from do-gooder first-world idiots like well fill in the blank So by far the easiest way to buy votes in Latin America is to raise the minimum wage But note it's got to be right before an election because people's memories are short and note all those little freebies like t-shirts and happy Meals, they cost a couple of bucks each So when you're trying to buy off a couple of million people, it really can run into some big-time Cordoba's Yeah, that's the Nicaraguan currency Cordoba. Anyway, this time Ortega's government is trying to buy votes With the money of those big agriculture impresarios and factory owners The ones that'll be footing the bill for the minimum wage increase, of course

[09:43] Now there's no argument that the minimum wage in all Latin countries is a big joke That's another discussion today. We're just talking about how corrupt politicians Manipulate the minimum wage for votes now independent economists and marketing analysts in and around Nicaragua are saying that there's been absolutely no relevant economic analysis to justify the increase in minimum wage no matter how crappy it looks and They said the government has asked for absolutely zero input from the private sector Who are on the hook for the tab? Of course Before making that decision. So just note again in Nicaragua. It's government by presidential decree Sound familiar? Oh, and by the way looking at the same big Nicaraguan daily newspaper

[10:30] I got that article out of there's another little bit of news I want to mention now first off Let me say that people often ask me how the Latin newspaper and the media deal with news stories Coming out of the first world do they have their own reporters up in New York? Let's say to get the Latin angle or do they just copy and paste the usual suspects the AP Reuters and BBC news sources, etc Well, I'll tell you one thing when they credit international news stories in Latin newspapers You never see articles coming from alternative news sources like zero hedge Natural news or Al Jazeera. It really is all the usual whitewashed news sources like the AP For example, here's a first world bit of breaking news right out of the same paper I got the Noriega stuff from what we've got here is a quarter page

[11:19] Photo of a smiling Obama and the headline says in Spanish, of course President Obama is proud to have saved the US economy Then it goes on to say in a small print that the US president has told CNN in an interview That his greatest achievement as president number one on his list is that he saved the US economy and his second greatest achievement and success Was that he so dramatically brought down US unemployment that by year end 2014 It had stabilized at a low five point six percent. I Guess that says it. All right So just know that down here in Latin America

[12:06] Latins get the same whitewashed media crap that you get the difference is down here It's just filler and Latins rarely read any of that stuff And when they do they buy it lock stock and barrel Just like Joe Sixpack and the Kardashian and Twitter and Facebook crowd do up in the first world now on that subject People have asked me if big Latin American media companies TV stations newspapers and such Send roving reporters up to the first world to cover first world stories The answer to that is yes But you'll find that almost all these roving reporters are stationed in big cities in the US where there are huge Latin Populations like Miami, New York, Chicago and LA but it's not what you think They're not covering the hard news to get the Latin angle on it. Instead

[12:52] 99.9% of the time they're covering the local US Latin scene what's happening in the Latin hoods in the US Like for example, they'll be on the street in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, etc on Nicaraguan independence day Just to interview happy people of Nicaraguan descent waving Nicaraguan flags eating Nicaraguan food And singing Nicaraguan songs down here You'll see news stories and interviews like that all the time people who on independence day are having block parties in their own US Latin neighborhoods and since there are 20 Latin American countries will be 20 Independence Day celebrations in the US just like that all of them seemingly very newsworthy to people here in Latin America who by the way are always looking to catch a glimpse of someone they might know a

[13:42] Relative an old friend from the neighborhood from down here in Salvador Nicaragua who's long since escaped to some US Latin community up in Chicago, Atlanta or Milwaukee So down here on local TV and in the papers you see reports like that all the time and of course They're covering everything and anything about Latin entertainment and fluff. In fact down here in Latin America There are whole channels devoted to Latin singers and entertainers that happen to be passing through the states on tour Because you know, there are millions of Latin Americans in the states who are an instant audience for homegrown talent like that And even though the average first world American would have no idea who these people are to the average Latin American family up in the states These touring entertainers are superstars, but let's not forget those all-important Latin American soap opera stars

[14:31] another group of people the American Caucasian and black Population wouldn't know from Adam if they were standing face-to-face with them in an elevator Now, isn't it funny that these soap opera stars who seem to be when they're not working Always in the United States hanging around at luxury hotels and resorts in Miami Naturally, in fact, I've never seen anything like it myself, but I'm used to it now The fact is down here in Latin America You can't watch an hour of local or national TV and not see a little clip of one of these Latin superstar entertainers lounging by a pool somewhere not in Mexico not in Rio not in Costa Rica, but in Miami, of course Turns out Miami seems to be the epicenter or even Mecca for Latin Americans who have made it or think they have made it

[15:20] And by the way, I have crossed paths myself with a few of these Latin Americans So-called superstars who are really complete unknowns to the average American black and Caucasian population And more than one of these people has told me that the definition of really making it as a Latin American star musician singer soap opera star or otherwise is to finally immigrate to the United States get their green card and buy a house in Miami in a wealthy area Of course The fact is you can't imagine how proud and happy the average Latin American person is when he sees one of his own Entertainment personalities musician or soap opera star on TV being interviewed up in Miami Sipping pina coladas by some pool and you know, it's kind of like a brainwashing effect

[16:06] If you're down here long enough and you watch Latin American TV for some time You really get the feeling that there are very few blacks and Caucasians left up in the United States and that it's loaded with happy Successful Latin Americans and that Spanish is the home language now. I'm not saying that as a put-down at all That's how Latin American roving reporters up in the States cover their beats enough said about that Let's move on now down here in Latin America Occasionally you'll be driving along and you'll see a big ribbon stuck on a car or on the front door of a house or on The garage door not that you see these things often, but they're out there and people wonder what meaning do they have? Well, it's not a happy meaning I can tell you that when you're driving around and you see a white ribbon

[16:51] That means a child 12 or under and the family has died the family will usually keep that bow hanging outside for people to see for about three days and Note if it's a black bow you see hanging on someone's door. That means an adult has died So note as one fresh expat lady mistakenly said to me Johnny They having a wedding there or something when she saw the white bow. I said nope, but it's almost as sad Just a little joke there. Oh, and by the way, these bows look just like a bow tie only bigger about the size of a shoebox Okay. Now this will make you laugh. You remember a couple of shows ago I mentioned two little Latin guys working a tienda that kept using the word cue and what they really meant was cute They just left the tee off. Anyway, I got this following email after I told that story. It says dear Johnny

[17:43] I hope you don't get any flack about that story You told the one about those two Latin guys using the word cue which you explained later as the word cute Just to help you out in case you do get some flack Something similar happened to me about eight months ago in Panama I was in one of those little tien does like a 7-eleven and was getting my cheap cell phone Recharged with some more time. I gave the guy behind the counter a $50 bill and asked him to put $5 In the phone as a recharge by the way Panama's funny money is the US dollar You know and the guy looked at me smiled took his head and said Cinquenta $50 is oh my god No change and just then another guy walked in he looked kind of like a gringo

[18:30] But he wasn't a very tall older fat guy Maybe 60 years old and he did the very same thing he handed a kid 50 bucks And he said he'd like to have five dollars worth of minutes recharged in the phone Just to explain things a little more the reason why we both wanted to get a $5 Recharge on our phones is because that day they were offering a special if you buy a $5 recharge They'll give you five times as many bonus minutes free so naturally you want the $5 recharge So anyway this big tall guy gave this young kid a $50 bill too And then from behind the counter one of the other tellers looked at the little guy who was charging up my phone And he said oh my god Ultra cinquenta another 50 and the guy charging my phone said the same thing

[19:18] Oh my god now this is the part you're gonna like just then that older guy who looked like a gringo He looked at both those guys and said in Spanish in the United States only women and gays Use the term. Oh my god, then he says are you two guys? Wacos which is Latin slang for gay and they both turned bright red and said kayate No way, which means shut up. No way so anyway I'm here to tell you the same kind of thing that happened to you happened to me too And he signs it Herbert from Philadelphia by way of Panama P.s. I'm coming to your next seminar for sure, but then again I said that last time all right then thanks for that Herbie

[20:04] Anyway, I want to close out now by giving you a little news from Robert in Europe Remember Robert my friend and website partner who occasionally shoots off emails to you from Europe just to let you know He and the expat wisdom team in Europe. Yes. There's an expat wisdom team both here in Latin America That's my thing and the expat wisdom team in Europe. That's Robert's thing Anyway, he and his expat wisdom team in Europe are meeting in Barcelona, Spain Early in May for a little fun to catch up hang out and generally enjoy all the coolness of Barcelona Then he thought why not invite some of the expat file listeners to now if you remember quite a while ago I mentioned that if Robert does one of these expat wisdom tours in Europe I'd tag along if I could and this looks like it just might turn out to be the perfect window to do that

[20:54] If there's any bad news, it's limited to only seven people There's a reason for it, but you'll have to hear it from Robert himself So if you're interested, you'd better get an email off to those guys as soon as possible just send an email to info at expat wisdom comm and They'll get you all those details immediately now Robert's been doing business in Spain for ten years now And he knows all the ins and outs the good the bad the ugly the great and the best deals right now With economies and real estate crashing left and right over there I understand from him. There's some tremendous deals to be had So if you're thinking about Europe as a place to live invest retire or work You won't get any better information anywhere, and it'll be boots on the ground too

[21:39] So send an email info at expat wisdom calm and by the way I promised him I'd show up there too, and maybe I'll even bring expat Eddie along who knows that said Here's another email you might find interesting this one's from PT Marcos That's perpetual tourist Marcos dear Johnny you mentioned on your show recently that there's no Alternative press in Latin America that may be true off the tourist trail But I thought you'd be pleased to know that here in Aksala, Mexico I picked up a local paper to read at breakfast and it turned out to be an excellent alternative publication called real Politic now the reason why I mentioned this because I want you to check out what it says in one of these articles Since in another recent show you talked about going to the big central market Now it seems to be a completely tax-free and receipt free zone in other words

[22:30] Everybody there is off the books, and they love it that way cash only no checks or credit cards, right? Anyway directly related to that here's what it says in one of those articles You know of course those fruit vendors in the Mercados and the guys and women with the carts who give you great deals on local Vegetables juices snacks and everything else under the Sun They transact everything in cash without anyone ever thinking of asking for a receipt Well now the Mexican government in its great wisdom has decided it wants to tax The meager income of those local stalwarts and is demanding that all of them start to give Electronic receipts and submit formal accounting reports

[23:15] Then Marco says good luck with that. So then what's my take on it? Well, if you've ever seen the organized chaos in these fantastic markets You'll see they'll never be able to control that Believe me if a tax man never showed his face in one of those markets, and he wasn't just buying He was asking for receipts etc. That guy would be ground taco meat within the hour believe me now They might be able to get away with it in some of the smaller more organized markets where they've only got maybe 40 or 50 sellers But in these big markets where they've got 500 or even a thousand of these little stalls all packed into a virtual maze That's almost impossible to find your way out of I say forget about it a tax man walks in there trying to put the law down He's gonna get his tires slashed or worse. Okay, then Marcos email says

[24:06] Johnny when I was reading that article in that magazine. There was an actual demonstration up the road against a number of local injustices The demonstration was packed and lasted for hours. So it seems like free expression is alive and well here in oxala That's more than you can say from my home country of Canada Which recently enacted part two of its draconian anti terror laws the best part of the new law is this if? Someone breaks the law while living outside of Canada and then returns to Canada They can still be arrested for their actions outside the country So I'd better be careful with the spin I put on this information I don't want the Canadian government to regard this emails as seditious for simply describing their own tactics

[24:53] And then he gives a link to the newspaper called the star Canada and it's called the terror bill Dramatically increases police power in Canada, then he goes on to say perhaps Johnny That's why I'm much more tolerant of Mexico in comparison to Canada It just seems a great place to be the trick is to stay away from like you said Places like Cancun Porto Vallarta and other hotel destinations and stick to the places where only the young International students and the aging boomer hippies might tend to hang out and of course where you don't hear much English Also, I know you don't much recommend Mexico But I think that some of the smaller coastal cities and also cities that are far away from the coast and far enough Removed from the border troubles might still be good places to check out now, of course

[25:42] I don't know how long that will last but so far. I'm enjoying my Mexican time while Mexico still remains Mexican And as long as they've got high-speed internet, of course Just one more thing a few weeks ago You mentioned the Union pay credit card as a way of getting around some of the banking restrictions that we Canadians have I'm still looking for a way to actually get a card as it seems that you need to go to one of the Asian banks and open an account in order to get one But then again, Asian banks are everywhere now, but in the meantime, there's another card. That's a little easier for you to get It's called the cash passport card and it's put out by a company called travel X worldwide currency it's www.travel x that's T R A V E L E X calm and note

[26:32] I found out that Americans down here have many more options than we Canadians do so it might be of interest to your American listeners. Anyway, you can get that card in a number of different currencies and reload the card online Unfortunately, we Canadians can only get Canadian or US dollars and we have to physically go to the place that we bought the card in Canada in order to reload it. Wow, that sure comes in handy when you're out of the country, doesn't it? But still it's good as a backup all the best keep up the good work PT Marcos, okay PT one more thing before we go if you're interested in coming to my next expat wisdom seminar Which will be I think in the second week of July 2015 To get in on the early bird discount prices. Send me an email to the expat files at gmail.com or

[27:23] info at expat wisdom calm It'll be a six-day event with heavy boots on the ground in Central America. You won't want to miss it South of the border You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me the expat files at gmail.com And don't forget to check out expat wisdom calm to sign up for your free reports on Latin America See you next time nos vemos