Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller dives into the complexities of expat life in Latin America, covering a range of topics from traffic fines and police interactions to cultural identity and the historical impact of European colonization. He begins by introducing himself and the show, highlighting his recent expat insider seminars in Guatemala and El Salvador, where he noted a repeat attendee who proposed to his girlfriend during the event. Johnny then transitions into his investigation into traffic fines and police interactions, noting that tourists, especially those driving rental cars, are more likely to be pulled over. He shares a personal anecdote about being stuck in a traffic jam after a truck accident, where he observed a spontaneous market emerge among stranded drivers, showcasing local goods and a sense of community. He discusses the laid-back and friendly atmosphere of local communities, contrasting it with the strict traffic laws and relatively low fines in Latin America, especially off the tourist trail, compared to the United States. Johnny also touches on the leni'ty of law enforcement in these regions and the cultural differences in how traffic violations are handled. He then moves on to discuss the consequences of drunk driving in countries off the 'gringo tourist trail,' such as Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, contrasting these penalties with those in the United States. He mentions the potential for corruption among local police and how some countries, like Ecuador, are attempting to combat it with new systems like a barcode reporting system. Johnny also touches on the lack of historical awareness among younger generations, especially Millennials, and how this affects their relationship with their heritage. He discusses the complex and often exaggerated heritage of Latinos, particularly those of mixed Spanish and indigenous descent, who tend to overstate their Spanish ancestry. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the history of the Americas, especially the Spanish conquest, for expats and visitors. He recommends a book titled 'Sapiens' as a comprehensive overview of human history and then reads an excerpt from a historical account of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, highlighting the initial encounters between the Aztecs and the Spanish, the technological and cultural shock experienced by the indigenous people, and the eventual downfall of the Aztec Empire due to the Spaniards' superior military and technological advantages. Finally, he discusses the historical impact of European colonization in the Americas, focusing on the Spanish conquests led by Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. He critiques the narrative of European altruism, highlighting the exploitation and devastation of indigenous populations. He also touches on the broader implications of European imperialism, including the spread of capitalism and its influence on the cultural and linguistic landscape of Latin America.
Topics
Introduction to The Expat Files podcast, Expat insider seminars and repeat attendees, Traffic fines and police interactions in Latin America, Personal anecdote about a traffic jam and spontaneous market, Spontaneous marketplace in remote areas, Traffic fines and enforcement in Latin America, Cultural differences in law enforcement, Comparisons between Latin America and the United States, Drunken driving penalties in Latin America, Corruption in local police forces, Anti-corruption initiatives in Ecuador, Historical awareness among younger generations
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:14 Introduction to The Expat Files Podcast 00:01:03 Repeat Offenders at Expat Seminars 00:02:06 Traffic Fines and Police Interactions in Latin America 00:05:54 Capitalism and how humans are drawn to it 00:05:56 Spontaneous Market During a Traffic Jam 00:06:45 A four-hour tailgate party 00:07:44 Average cost of transit violations 00:11:26 Drunken Driving in Latin America: A Comparison to the U.S. and the Role of Tourist Trails 00:12:28 Drunken Driving Penalties in Costa Rica and Other Latin Countries 00:14:02 Ecuador's Anti-Corruption Barcode System for Traffic Police 00:17:06 Exaggerated Heritage of Latinos 00:17:52 Recommended Reading: Sapiens 00:18:04 Excerpt from the Spanish Conquest of the Americas 00:22:48 Introduction to the Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs 00:23:38 Cortés' Capture of Montezuma and the Paralysis of the Aztec Empire 00:24:41 The Devastation of Indigenous Populations and the Rise of European Dominance 00:25:33 Critique of European Colonial Narratives 00:26:54 The Role of Capitalism in European Colonization
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 out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat 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 Alright back in the saddle again after a very cool expat insider seminar Trekking around both Guatemala and El Salvador and this time as usual we had repeat offenders three repeat offenders by the way So for all of you out there who just might be new
[00:47] Listeners to this show and just start now hearing about my expat insider seminars, which I hold around two times each year If you're wondering if they're fun information packed and worth it. Well, I'll ask you this What other seminars have you ever heard of where people come back? Over and over again to drink from the proverbial fire hose when speaking of repeat offenders this time We had a first at the seminar a repeat offender came down with his girlfriend And as we all found out as rumors flew he proposed matrimony to her at the seminar Luckily, she said yes, which was cool because well would have been a bit of bad Clamor if it turned out any other way and our seminar lawyer married them in Guatemala Anyway, this is my first live or kind of live show coming off my July 2019 expat insider seminar
[01:36] And I have a lot of brand new boots on the ground stories to tell you But first a little bit about some boots on the ground investigations I've been doing in regards to traffic cops and moving violations and fines if you happen to get pulled over and nailed now You see in the past couple of months I've been to five different Latin countries talking to cops talking to uber and cab drivers and of course over the years I've been pulled over a few times myself So I have a lot of experience when it comes to paying traffic fines and bribes to the cops, too anyway, now my investigation of the average cost of traffic fines here in Latin America is over and for one what I found out as you might expect when you're on the gringo tourist trail cops are a lot more active pulling gringos over all The time especially gringos in rental cars
[02:22] You can spot a rent a car a mile away because in most cases They've got a sticker on the windshield somewhere or they've got a certain license plate sequence Reflecting the fact that they're rentals So as it turns out you're gonna get pulled over a lot more often if you're driving a new Expensive or light new car and or if you're driving a rental Why is that well, of course because cops know you're most likely a tourist or a gringo with lots more money than they have Plus your Spanish sucks and you're in a hurry to get somewhere gringos always are not to mention because you're in a different country That speaks a different language You're always more nervous than the average local and are willing to pay whatever they say to get the hell out of there By the way speaking of gringo is always being in a hurry and often all wound up when things aren't going right or on time a
[03:09] Couple of days before the expat insider seminar portion in El Salvador I was a passenger in an uber way out in the boonies a nice country road not much traffic at all and suddenly We ran into a big roadblock turns out a big tractor trailer took the curve too hard and flip ended up perpendicular to the road Completely blocking both lanes of traffic now when we stopped we were about the tenth car from where the cops had set up the roadblock We could see the truck and its contents played all over the road. In fact, the truck blocked the way so thoroughly Motorcycles couldn't even pass. So the motorcycles were piling up at the roadblock, too Now this was around 2 in the afternoon and I asked one of the cops a lady cop how much longer? She said probably a half-hour no more than an hour
[03:55] Thing is they had to wait for two big gruas to come Gruas are tow trucks and they needed the big ass ones kids. This was a semi trailer So I did the first grade math in my head. She said half hour to an hour. That means hmm Let's see now about two hours Latino time. Hey, I know Latin America I know manana time and that's how I calculate any Latinos personal time estimate Alright, so a half hour later cops are walking around right in front of me And I heard one of them talking to another cop on her cell phone saying the traffic was now backed up for five kilometers So I was sitting there with nothing to do. Of course, I have my trusty iPod It's a lifesaver when you're stuck in situations like that or in the endless lines Oh and mines always loaded with audiobooks and podcasts never music
[04:42] I know I know it seems odd for an ex B grade musician like me, you know Not to have any music at all on that device But my philosophy is always been I'd rather be educated than entertained though If you pick the right material education can be entertaining, right? Anyway, I did the second grade math in my head figuring each car took up a space of roughly 20 feet and with a kilometer being Around 3,500 feet. So with a 5 kilometer long traffic backup, that would be around 850 cars Nope, not good. But at least I was at the front of the line. Alright, so time rolls on we're in tower 2 still No, go turns out my own manana time estimates had failed me But suddenly a small trickle of vendors appeared ladies and kids
[05:28] They'd knock on your window and show you their goods for sale Coca-Cola bottled water cakes snacks junk food pecans peanuts all kinds of nuts even cold beer And you know by our tool almost everyone had their doors flung open and people were walking around mingling with people in the other cars who were in the same predicament not a sour word amongst them much like a Spontaneous tailgate party. It was also a proof of spontaneous Capitalism and how humans are drawn to it You gotta wonder how that happened and it happens all the time even way out in the boonies where there's practically nothing Normally in the boonies, there's just widely spaced block or tin shack houses Punctuated by a hole-in-the-wall convenience store and gas stationing every so often You'll also see some hole-in-the-wall dumps along the road called pin chazos
[06:17] Pin Chazos a tire repair shop. They're everywhere and super convenient, too I can't tell you how many dozens of times I've used them myself They're usually tin shacks attached to a tin shack living quarters Fit it out with stacks of very used tires Which they'll sell you if they can't repair your puncture because it's too big or the tires torn By the way, it'll cost you one to two bucks to have your tire fixed All right. So where was I going with this? Oh, yeah by our three there was a virtual mini marketplace going on It just spontaneously appeared and of course being way off the gringo a tourist trail I was the only gringo in sight and the amazing thing everyone and I mean everyone was smiling happy and having a good old
[07:02] Time like it was a Sunday afternoon and it was a work day a Wednesday Amazingly, none of them seemed stressed except me the gringo because we all have this built-in sense of urgency Don't we it's something within us like road rage that we never seem to completely shed So in the end it turned out to be a four hour tailgate party Until finally the grew has came and hauled that truck off to the side, but I digress as usual Where are we? Oh, yeah, the average cost of transit violations as usual There are two different tiers when you're off the gringo tourist trail, which encompasses around 15 of the 20 Latin countries and then the other five like Costa Rica Panama, Mexico, Colombia and now Ecuador all right Let's talk about the average traffic fines You'll have to pay if you're caught by the cops driving like a dick when you're off the tourist trail
[07:51] Oh, and of course these apply if the cops actually want to stop you for these violations And when you're off the gringo tourist trail, they rarely do However, when you're on the trail, like I said, they'll target the gringos and tourists every time Anyway, when you're off the trail, for example, if you make an illegal u-turn and they actually catch you average fine around twelve dollars Yeah, you heard right twelve bucks now What would that cost you if you were caught doing that back in the states and get this average fine for passing in a no Passing zone and I've never seen anyone stopped or nailed for that average fine 15 bucks Remember every country is similar yet different because they've got their own funny money that doesn't quite relate to even dollar amounts Except Panama Ecuador and El Salvador. They use US dollars
[08:37] So for example in Honduras at the present time if you get pulled over for illegally passing someone in a no passing zone It's eleven dollars and forty three cents because they're a bit of funny money is around 24 to the dollar All right next then this is really amazing if you get caught driving without a license and you actually have a license But you just don't have it on you that day Average fine off the gringo tourist trail 15 bucks. However, if you had never had a license the fine 35 bucks if you're caught with a license that expired the fine 20 bucks Now as I'm rattling this stuff off Just think of what kind of fines you'd be nailed with if you were in Chicago or Cleveland You get caught without a license in the US. They'll impound your car in Latin America They don't do that unless you get into an accident
[09:24] You don't have insurance or you hit someone and put them in the hospital Even so if you got a Latin lawyer you can get on the phone with right away He can talk to the cops for you and many times they won't impound your car as long as you haven't killed anybody Alright, next we've got this group of traffic offenses on the books, but most cops won't write you up Why because so many people violate them including the cops Of course if they pull you over and you're a wise ass that negates your gringo advantage and all bets are off Oddly enough there are fines for people who don't have headlights and taillights Which makes me laugh because one out of four cars don't including cop cars Average fine if they write you up which they almost never will 16 bucks also if you're caught not wearing a seat belt or talking on a cell phone which is prohibited just like up on the stage
[10:09] You know, they've got all the same laws. Although almost no one ever gets fined for that However, if a cop's in a bad mood or you're an a-hole average fine 35 bucks. All right How about this fine? Sounds like it's from another planet driving with false license plates, man If that happened in the States, you'd probably be looking at some hard time Anyway, if it happens here in Latin America, at least off the tourist trail average fine 60 bucks crazier still They'll let you ride off. They won't impound your car Oh and here's one the uber and taxi drivers were complaining about they said if you park your car in a preferential Parking place that is one that's reserved for magnetous pustulant dung-breath government officials the fine also about 60 bucks However, if you park in a regular no parking zone like in front of a hydrant
[10:57] Oh and by the way, I've talked to some bomb arrows that is firemen down here and they say probably 95% of all the fire hydrants you see aren't functional. Anyway, the fine for being in a regular no parking zone 15 bucks. All right. What about drunken driving if you get caught fail the test in front of the cops, etc Fine on average off the gringo tourist trail 60 bucks Oh and by the way, it's up to the discretion of the cop whether they'll let you drive home Or they might just accompany your home and drive your car for you Kind of like Otis and deputy Fife in Mayberry, huh? Next we've got the case when you're drunk and you've gotten into an accident average fine off the gringo tourist trail 60 bucks again, man, if that happened to you in the States total cost could go as high as 10 grand I know it happened to my brother when here in Latin America off the tourist trail if that happens you're drunk and you get in
[11:46] A crack up. They'll take your car for sure and pound it and you will spend anywhere from 48 to 72 hours in jail They'll hold you there. However, I've been told our cops taxi and uber drivers depends if you're at fault or not I mean really the saying you could be a drunk driver and get in an accident if you're not at fault What you probably are cuz you're drunk. You'll pay a $65 fine in walk or stumble depending You know, like I said, these are averages for countries off the gringo tourist trail like Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua El Salvador Bolivia Argentina, etc Now let's give an example of drunken driving if you're in one of those gringo wise countries like Panama Costa Rica Listen to this drunken driving charge Costa Rica first offense
[12:33] 495 bucks by the way in those gringoized countries like Panama Costa Rica You heard me mentioned the transit cops have a direct line to the airport So if you don't pay that fine, you're not flying out Which is not the case at all in those 15 countries off the gringo tourist trail Anyway costs of drunken driving first defense Costa Rica 495 bucks Panama first defense drunken driving 700 bucks still nothing compared to what the fines are in the states But five to ten times what you'll pay if you're caught drunk driving in a Latin country off the gringo tourist trail Now the thing is you read once in a while in the Spanish language newspapers and those papers you don't read I know that certain groups would put pressure on legislators to increase those fines But they'll only do that reluctantly because legislators are often heavy drinkers and alcoholics themselves
[13:24] Because you know It's one of the perks of power to be an asshole driver when you've got government plates in your feet and deep in the trough The cops will almost always give you a pass except if you're drunk and you kill somebody Think of it this way Canadians hockey priests little boys politicians booze That's the way of the world, but you knew that already perfect example Boris Yeltsin You know, it's been said more than once that politics is like a toilet in a taco bar Only the biggest most disgusting chunks float to the top, but I digress man that I digress Anyway, speaking of Latin cops, here's something that hasn't escaped my attention. Here's an article that's entitled Transit Commission introduces barcode system for reporting traffic cop corruption and this one comes out of Ecuador
[14:10] It's from July 14 2019 just a couple weeks ago and I'll paraphrase it says Ecuador's Transit Commission The CTE is introducing a barcode system. It allows residents to report bribery demands or other misconduct by Transit police or officials the new program is called quote don't give corruption a chance Then it says according to Edison Moscosa CTE director Barcodes will be attached to transit police cars and badges and will also appear at CTE offices throughout the country Those who believe they are being asked for bribes or feel they are being treated unfairly by transit cops Can then photograph a barcode on their cell phone and the data sent immediately to be filed and analyzed It says the system works with twaddle insta fart and fake book and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play
[14:57] It says the system will reduce guesswork and uncertainty of identifying transit cops who allegedly demand bribes from drivers Then there's a quote It says we receive many complaints from motorists about corruption But rarely have the names of the officers involved making it difficult to pursue disciplinary or legal action All right, sounds good, right? Yeah, not so fast problem is cops don't come right out in ask you for a bribe They usually set you up by trying to throw a scare into you saying your paperwork's not in order They're gonna impound your car take you down to the station Whatever finally inching towards the idea of a bribe and you might be suggesting yourself by saying something like officer Listen, isn't there a chance we could settle all this? I'll just pay the fine here and now if that's all right with you
[15:44] Of course, that's an invitation to bribery because you don't pay any fine right on the spot However, as mentioned earlier gringos always seem to be in a hurry ready and willing to drop 20 50 even a hundred bucks To avoid having to go down to the police station and hang out there for a few hours Even though the cops want to throw that at you It'll almost never come to pass Normally, it's just a way to try to get you to pay off right there because they know if they take you down to the station They'll have to let you go and they'll get nothing out of you So in the end, I'm not so sure about that Ecuador barcode anti-corruption scheme besides that one thing I know for sure whether you're in the first second or third world The cops do not like to get photographed if you want to instantly get on their bad side Pull out your cell phone and have at it Alright now for something completely different Seems like every astute person over 50 realizes young kids today
[16:34] Especially Millennials don't know history nor the lessons of history which begs the question do Latinos know American history or Latino history Nope, it seems like they're even more clueless about their own history as North Americans are that's why there's this love-hate relationship going with most Latinos concerning their Spanish old-world roots and heritage. In fact, it's only been since 2012 You know the end of the Mayan calendar end of the world thing that indigenous people have embraced being Mayan or Inca Whatever as their proud heritage Whereas it seems every single Ladino that's a person of mixed Spanish and indigenous blood will to a person lie or heavily Exaggerate to the upside the amount of old-world Spanish blood running through their veins
[17:19] They'll always maximize the Spanish portion and minimize the indigenous just as the old adage goes North American women that is gringas lie about their age and weight men about their incomes and sexual conquests and Latinos About their percentage of old-world Spanish blood now I believe if you're gonna live or visit here There are certain things about the culture you have to know because there are just too many clueless gringos We just don't get it the history here and its effect on the people is complicated, but we'll give it a try You know, I once read a book. I think it was 850 pages It's titled with something like Cortez Pizarro and the conquest of the Americas an excellent read, but in no way a thumbnail sketch However, you see there's an impossibly excellent book out there right now called sapiens as in homo sapiens
[18:04] It's basically the history of mankind and now I'm gonna read an excerpt for you a small part of the conquest of the Americas Now if you pay attention to this, you'll know more than ninety nine point nine percent of Latinos about their own heritage And of course gringos and expats too So here goes by the way, if you want the PDF Kindle or audiobook shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com I'd be glad to send it off to you All right, here it goes and I'll tighten it up for you best I can the title is invasion from outer space around 1517 Spanish colonists in the Caribbean islands began to hear vague rumors about a powerful Empire somewhere in the center of Mexican mainland a Mere four years later the Aztec capital was a smoldering ruin The Aztec Empire was a thing of the past and Hernan Cortez lorded over a vast new Empire
[18:55] Mexico the Spaniards did not stop to congratulate themselves or even to catch their breath They immediately commenced exploring conquer operations in all directions the previous rulers of Central America The Aztecs Toltecs de Maya barely knew South America existed and never made an attempt to subjugate it over the course of 2,000 years yet within little more than 10 years of the Spanish conquest of Mexico Francisco Pizarro had discovered the Inca Empire in South America and Vanquished it had the Aztecs and Inca shown a bit more interest in the world surrounding them and had they known what the Spaniards had done To their neighbors things would have been different in the years separating Columbus's first journey in 1492 from the landing of Cortez in Mexico in 1519 the Spaniards conquered and set up colonies for the
[19:42] subjugated natives However, these colonies were hell on earth They were ruled with an iron fist by greedy unscrupulous colonists to enslave them and set them to work in the mines and plantations Killing anyone who offered the slightest resistance Most of the native population perhaps 90% soon died either because of the harsh working conditions or the virulence of the diseases That hitchhiked to America on the conqueror sailing ships within 20 years almost the entire native Caribbean Population was wiped out the Spanish colonists then began importing African slaves to fill the vacuum This genocide took place on the very doorstep of the Aztec Empire yet when Cortez landed on the Empire's eastern coast The Aztecs knew nothing about it The coming of the Spaniards was the equivalent of an invasion from outer space
[20:27] The Aztecs were convinced that they knew the entire world and that they ruled most of it to them It was unimaginable that outside of their domain could exist anything like these Spaniards When Cortez and his men landed on the sunny beaches of today's Veracruz It was the first time Aztecs encountered a completely unknown people They had trouble deciding what these strangers were unlike known humans the aliens had white skins They had lots of facial hair and had hair the color of the Sun also stank horribly Native hygiene was far better than Spanish hygiene when the Spaniards first arrived in Mexico Natives bearing incense burners were assigned to accompany them wherever they went Spaniards thought it was a mark of divine honor. We know now from native sources. They found the newcomers smell Unbearable the aliens material culture was even more bewildering
[21:16] They came in giant ships the like of which Aztecs had never imagined let alone seen They wrote on the back of huge terrifying animals swift as the wind they could produce lightning and thunder out of shiny metal sticks They had flashing long swords and impenetrable armor against which the natives wooden swords and flint spears were useless Some Aztecs thought these must be gods others argued they were demons or ghosts of the dead or powerful sorcerers So instead of concentrating all available forces and wiping out the Spaniards the Aztecs deliberated dawdled and negotiated They saw no reason to rush after all Cortez had only five hundred fifty Spaniards with them What could 550 do to an empire of millions Cortez was equally ignorant about the Aztecs But he and his men held significant advantages
[22:02] While Aztecs had no experience to prepare them for the arrival of these strange-looking and foul-smelling aliens The Spanish knew the earth was full of unknown human realms and no one had greater expertise in invading and dealing with situations about which they were utterly ignorant for modern European conquerors like the modern European scientists they were plunging into the unknown and it was exhilarating So when Cortez anchored off that sunny beach July at 1519 He did not hesitate to act like a science fiction alien emerging from a spaceship He declared to the awestruck locals we come in peace take us to your leader Hmm Cortez explained he was a peaceful emissary from the great king of Spain and asked for a diplomatic interview with the Aztec king Montezuma II yes he of Montezuma's revenge the ever-present generational scourge of backpackers and clueless gringos
[22:55] I added that by the way Anyway stating he was a peaceful emissary was a shameless lie Cortez led an independent expedition of greedy Adventurers in fact the king of Spain had never even heard of Cortez nor of the Aztecs But Cortez was given guides food and some military assistance by the local enemies of Montezuma king of the Aztecs He then marched towards the capital the great metropolis Which is now Mexico City and the Aztecs allowed the aliens to march all the way in Then they led him to Montezuma's chamber in the midst of the interview Cortez gave a signal and his steel armored spandiers Butchered all of Montezuma's bodyguards who were only armed with wooden clubs and stone blades Then Cortez the honored guest took the king prisoner. However Cortez was now in a very delicate situation
[23:44] He captured the Emperor but was surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy warriors and millions of hostile civilians And an entire continent about which he knew practically nothing He had at his disposal only a few hundred Spaniards and the closest Spanish reinforcements were in Cuba more than 1,500 kilometers away Cortez then kept Montezuma captive in the palace making it look as if the king remained free and in charge as If the Spanish ambassador Cortez were no more than a guest now remember The Aztec Empire was extremely centralized and this unprecedented situation paralyzed it Montezuma continued to behave as if he ruled the Empire and the Aztec elite continued to obey him Which meant they actually obeyed Cortez this went on for several months Soon enough many more Spanish soldiers and settlers began arriving from Mexico and Cuba and before the locals realized it
[24:36] it was too late within a century of the landing at Vera Cruz the native population of the Americas had shrunk by 90% and the survivors found themselves under the thumb of a greedy racist regime. That was far worse than that of the Aztecs Flashed to South America ten years after Cortez landed in Mexico Pizarro arrived on the shore of the Inca Empire He had far fewer soldiers than Cortez an expedition of only 168 men but Pizarro benefited from all the knowledge and experience gained by Cortez in the previous invasion The Inca however knew nothing about the fate of the Aztecs in Mexico to the north Pizarro in South America plagiarized Cortez's moves exactly he declared himself a peaceful emissary of the king of Spain invited the Inca ruler
[25:21] Atachumba to a diplomatic interview and then kidnapped him So then for the next 300 years Europeans enjoyed undisputed mastery in America and Oceana in the Atlantic and the Pacific Now some people will say the Europeans benefited the conquered populations by bringing them progress Providing them with medicine education built railroads canals ensured justice systems and prosperity Those European conquerors claimed their empires were not vast enterprises of exploitation but rather altruistic projects conducted for the sake of non European races as recalled in the poem of the famous writer Rudyard Kipling called the white man's burden The poem goes like this take up the white man's burden send forth the best ye breed
[26:07] Go bind your sons to exile to serve your captives need to wait in heavy harness on Fluttered folk and wild your new caught sullen peoples half devil and half child Then it says in truth neither the narrative of oppression and exploitation or that of the white man's burden Completely matches the facts the European Empire did so many things on so many different scales that you can find plenty of examples To support whatever you want to say about them. You think these empires were evil monstrosities that spread death oppression and injustice around the world You could easily fill an encyclopedia with their crimes However, if you want to argue that they in fact improve the conditions of their subjects with medicine better economic conditions and greater security You could fill another encyclopedia with those achievements
[26:54] But it's sure the one force behind all this was capitalism in 1484 Christopher Columbus approached the king of Portugal Italy France in England and pitched it like a present-day startup entrepreneur. He needed potential investors He was rejected by everyone but Spain So just think without Queen Isabel of Spain all Latin Americans would be speaking German Dutch English or French If English their national sport may have been cricket if conquered by the French think of it They'd be eating croissants instead of tacos champagne. Instead of rum and tequila. No salsa No samba, no rum, but and the ladies hmm hairy legs and armpits to be continued You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B, you can schedule a one-on-one phone call with me
[27:40] But first download my free plan B questionnaire at www.thenewexpat.com Better yet if you want to get your plan B going from right up there in the States Just sign up for my 9-hour expat essentials course get the perfect plan B blueprint by going to the expat files.com Academy