#950 – The Expat Files: Navigating Latin America’s Challenges and Opportunities

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 All right Let's talk about the corona virus and the extremes some Latin countries have gone to that Some gringos and expats think are absolutely nuts Now, of course the two Latin countries that have been hit the hardest with the corona virus are Ecuador and Brazil

[00:45] However, if you've visited these countries yourself, you'll notice they're not much alike at all There's a huge difference in the culture the economy the language pretty much everything Except that they're both Latin American countries and they're both in South America Now Brazil is a huge chaotic country with a very diverse cultural mix They've got massive numbers of poor people living in ghettos where the cops won't even bother to come if you dial 9-1-1 So when the government lays down rules and regulations as with curfews and such with the corona virus in most cases There's really no way for the police to enforce anything like that Except of course in the tourist and upscale neighborhoods where things are much better organized That means if you're in one of the ghettos the favales the crappy areas You won't see the kind of rigid social distancing or mask wearing and general order you see in the business or upscale areas

[01:33] And what that means is when the government lays down and eat it It all depends on where you're living as to whether the folks in the neighborhood are going to carry out those rules to the letter or not Then we have the case of Ecuador Which as far as Latin American countries go has the highest infection and death rate per capita now They don't have such a diversified population as Brazil They've got basically your Latino or Latino population and the indigenous population of course They've got small numbers of other populations mixed in like Asians, etc Though only a very small percentage of the total, but let's not forget relocated mostly retired gringos and expats, too Since Ecuador has been a top on the list of gringo expat destinations Thanks to all those expat gringo websites blogs and rags like AARP and international living of course you longtime listeners

[02:24] No, I've never been too hot on Ecuador one big reason being international living every time they pump up a place There's a big flood of gringos for the next couple years and all of a sudden you got another high-priced Dysfunctional Costa Rica on your hands now I know a lot of gringos and expats were living in Ecuador and they're freaking out right now Why wouldn't they be the virus is plowed through the place and taken no prisoners? And of course, it's hitting the poor and the elderly hardest now ask yourself What kind of gringos and expats read international living and subscribe to rags like AARP? Retired middle-aged and elderly gringos and expats one of the big problems being the country's National that is public health care system it's been one of the perks that international living and AARP have been pumping up a nice drawing card for middle-aged and

[03:13] Elderly gringos and expats look when you've got super high health care costs up in the states and someone tells you you can come down to Ecuador and pay virtually nothing to get on their national health care plan What they don't tell you is that it's bankrupt and falling apart So then how'd that happen? Well, you see what international living on those other rags would do was tell people what the national health care system was like under the past President Correa, you know the guy who's a convicted fugitive now Who when and if he gets caught is facing eight years in prison for corruption and it was true under him The national health care system was fully funded But they soon ran out of dough or Correa stole all the dough and now they're broken bankrupt Now compared to Brazil Ecuador is a very tiny country and the smaller the country the easier

[03:59] It is for the government to set down rules and actually enforce them as a result Ecuador is a case where the government has actually been able to crack the whip and though every Latin country now has some kind Of a curfew as well as social distancing, etc, etc Ecuador because of their excessive number of corona cases and deaths have gone in some ways off the deep end For example, if you have a car you have to go online and print out what they're calling a salvo conduct Oh permit Translation safe conduct permit and that gives you permission to drive your car in the street only on certain days Depending on the last number on your license plate and as of April 23rd, they've issued two million three hundred eighty seven 754 these permits

[04:44] However, in spite of the lockdown and you're forced limited use of the car There are still a lot of cars on the streets and people are saying how could that be? It's supposed to be quite restricted. Well, you know, this is Latin American rules are meant to be bent and broken That's the way things are here. Everybody knows something's not kosher with that system There's all kinds of fraud including people printing and forging them Oh, and if you have a car other restriction supply, for example, you're limited to the number of people in your car So if you have a private car, it's only you the driver that can be in that car That sucks doesn't it as for vans and light cargo vehicles like pickups. You can have a driver and one companion Larger trucks and semis can have up to three people in the cab Now if you're caught driving without your salvo conduct Oh slip

[05:33] You'll be hit with a $200 fine and the loss of nine points on your license along with that They'll impound your vehicle for five days. Oh and another thing you longtime listeners probably heard me talk about Drivers licenses and the point system that only a few Latin American countries have a point system like you have up in the states Isn't it funny that those Latin American countries where gringos have piled in have point systems? like for example, Ecuador Costa Rica and Mexico and Those Latin American countries that have very few gringos don't have point systems. What do you make of that coincidence? Might it have something to do with gouging those rich clueless gringo usurpers after all practically every gringo that lands down here in Latin America permanently Eventually has a car or two

[06:20] Whereas your average middle class and lower middle class Latino take the metro public transportation or the chicken bus Hmm, but I digress. Where were we? Oh, yeah extreme government quarantine and lockdown conditions in Ecuador So as mentioned if you're caught driving without a salvo conduct, oh, that's a safe conduct driving past You'll be hit with a fine of $200 and a loss of nine points off your license And they'll take your car and impound it for five days And by the way, that's one thing you never want the government of any Latin country to impound your vehicle Why is that? Well, it never fails. Everybody I've ever known who's had a car impounded They always got their cars back in worse condition with scratches and dents that weren't there before missing batteries radios jacks spare tires

[07:08] Yep, even though it ends up in a protected guarded government lot. I'll give you one guess who's in on the ripoff scams So anyway in Ecuador the government lard ass in charge of those fines and sanctions says that between March 21st and April 19th there were 2023 sanctions for not complying with the vehicular restrictions and 245 cars impounded and they've got a long list of people who falsified and counterfeited safe conduct passes For that you're supposed to get jail time though. No one's done any time yet Because everyone knows 20 bucks will grease a cop's palm in a New York second By the way, if you own a motorcycle, you're supposed to get one of those permits, too But as everyone here in Latin America knows, it's almost impossible for a cop to pull over or stop a motorcycle

[07:56] Moto drivers know all the tricks when they see a roadblock up ahead if their papers are bad Or they don't have a permit or they've got five kids and grandma glued to the backseat They just do a ue whether it's a one-way or not Or just blaze on through full speed ahead because the cops got no way to stop them You must remember there are no high-speed chases here in Latin America. The cops just aren't issued enough gas to pull it off That's why the only time you're ever gonna get stopped is at a stationary roadblock Oh, and by the way, if it's raining or even sprinkling just a little bit The cops will never stop you even at one of those fully manned roadblocks. I've seen that happen a hundred times Oh and note even if a roadblock is functioning as planned They'll only pull over maybe one out of 30 or 40 cars And here's a tip if they point at you and wave you over you can generally pretend you didn't see him and just keep going

[08:45] I've done that a number of times doing nothing ever happens. They just pick on the next guy Oh and speaking of Ecuador, here's something that'll give you the willies turns out every year about this time There's a type of spider that lives along streams and lakes that you have to keep an eye out for by the way spiders are Called Arranas Arranas Anyway, this particular one spans around four inches It's normally a ground dweller But it goes up into the trees this time of year just to mate and lay their eggs spiderlings I think that's what they call them Spiderlings start feeding up in those trees and when they're ready to start life on the ground They drop in huge numbers. So beware of raining spiders. Yeah Who said there's not a bright side to this quarantine thing, huh? Meanwhile back in Ecuador

[09:31] People on the street who've run out of dough and have to make a buck to eat are testing how far the government will go with This social distancing thing and curfew They've set the social distancing thing at one and a half meters slightly under five feet with a hundred dollar fine If you violate it and a hundred bucks for not wearing a mask and get this and now imposing a fine of a hundred bucks If you sell masks on the street, that seems crazy There's no other Latin American country. I know of that prohibits people selling homemade masks. If you ask me It's capitalism at its finest. There's a demand and suddenly a supply shows up. Yeah, I get it No one's regulating homemade masks. I mean they could be made out of anything including used underwear But hey, the market also adjusts for those things when a better product shows up people buy it

[10:19] You know with pure capitalism a better product at a cheaper price will drive out the lesser competition Oh and get this the Ecuadorian government's imposing a $200 fine for stores and businesses that do not offer alcohol or hand sanitizers when you walk through the door Yep, make way for another bottomless pit bureaucracy the hygiene police coming to a municipality near you So anyway, I just want to fill you in on the extreme case of Ecuador where they've got the highest body count And since it's in the news everywhere and the world's picked up on it The government's in panic mode and they've gone off the deep end Oh, and did I mention the government's defaulted on its latest IMF payments and is technically bankrupt same thing with Argentina Venezuela and Brazil We can expect to see a lot more join in that club in the next few months

[11:05] Meanwhile in almost every other Latin American country you have to wear masks just like up in the US They've got social distancing of about three to four feet They've got the usual suspect curfews of four or five or six at night But none have the extreme driving regs like Ecuador at least not yet By the way, there's another wild card in this coronavirus thing Remittances, you know the dough that migrant and illegal families up in the states send back to their families at home in Latin America Well, you know for most Latin countries 20 to 30 percent of their entire GDP depends on those remittances I mean, that's why so many illegals sneak into the states so they can make money to send to the folks back home And now with the virus lockdown remisses have dried up and besides the families back home

[11:50] You know who's gonna take the biggest hit that thoroughly corrupt piece of Western Union they make billions each year for doing practically nothing but skimming 10% of every little bit that's sent back home If they crash and burn and they should it couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of scumbags and thieves Alright now a very thoughtful email from one of my many hundreds of listeners named Dave Not kidding Hmm. How'd there get to be so many days when I grew up? I only knew one and his big claim to fame was that he taught all the kids in the neighborhood the f-word After that, my mom wouldn't let me hang with him. Anyway, Dave says hi Johnny. The show is fantastic The health care report is great, too, but there's something else you ought to know

[12:40] We're all in the midst of a revolution in the higher education world I've seen this through the eyes of my 12th grader and other people I know Colleges especially expensive private ones were hit with a triple whammy Number one parents are a lot less willing to pay 35 to 55 K in tuition number two Those school endowments were recently impacted by the same financial issues that have hit our own investment returns They're all down by over 25% now and number three on-site learning at the brick and mortar schools may not even have Happened in the fall. Therefore, why should we pay high tuition costs when there may not even be a campus experience for the kids? Then there's those recent college scandals that just confirmed everything

[13:25] We already knew that there was always a backdoor to admissions at the highly selective colleges It's obvious that these are at the entitled and affluent pricks who think they can live by their own rules Those high-rolling charlatans view admission to fancy colleges with the same perspective as their other Aspirational possessions such as their European SUVs and McMansions Another thing those upscale educational institutions have been especially marketing to first-generation Educated wealthy immigrants who care more about vanity than substance For example, everyone knows Ivy League schools imply that by admission a student will gain acceptance Prestige and a certain cachet and respect you just can't get from state schools

[14:11] On the other hand these institutions, especially the Ivy League ones have many side and backdoor entrances in addition They socially engineer their student body based on issues other than merit Sure You can get in if you're rich enough to buy your way in or gain admittance based on other factors such as Legacy or parents who work at the institution as well as minority and diversity factors, too The best analogy I can think of Johnny is rent control and major metropolitan areas in a rent controlled building the overall quality and Investment viability suffers and you've got unsubsidized taxpayers Put in the bill this is why Manhattan has such poor housing options and the outlying areas such as Hoboken Brooklyn and Queens are better investments for landlords with tenants having more options

[14:57] The same dilution of quality is impacting our higher education system The problem is ultimately admitting these types of kids not based on merit comes at a cost the sacrificing of quality We all know the academic quality of the student body has been diluted in favor of more subjective criteria All right. Now imagine you're a boss and you're hiring credentialed people You can't help but ask were they admitted on their own merits Or did they get in because their parents knew someone or had money or through another side door? Of course, we can have excellent discussions about alternative colleges to such as coding academies gap years military, etc However, Johnny, I want to share a story of my own son and nephew My nephew was in the top 1% of his high school class top 1% of SAT scores, too

[15:48] And he was also rated as a state level music performer, too Now for my son He was in the top 2% of his high school class top 2% of SAT scores and a similar high level profile with his musical prowess, too Yet both of those fine youngsters were turned down by every Ivy League college they applied to instead They are attending honors colleges at less prestigious schools with generous tuition scholarships And that's all good as far as that goes In other words, we dodged a financial bullet and both kids are in good positions But we had to play this weird tap dance Societal expectations pushed the kids to see if they could make it into Ivy League schools So they applied they and we had the same social pressures as everyone else

[16:35] However, we knew if they were accepted an undergraduate degree from one of these places would set us back at least 300 grand and now the virus timeline of this situation is really telling because you see coincidentally up till May 1st High school seniors will be declaring their fall 2020 college selections You'd like to think that rational parents are guiding their children away from the very expensive options But some families are still in denial. I'm seeing some peers where both parents are now Unemployed or underemployed making perilous and stupid choices for their kids Like for example sending their kids to out-of-state colleges when their own state choices are just as good and much less expensive These are 18 year old kids who are about to incur massive debt

[17:24] They just don't have the maturity to grasp the consequences of a debt-plagued future though There are those kids who are accepted to high-butt colleges who turn them down for lower cost in-state options And you know most of the more expensive schools, especially the Ivy League ones do not even offer merit scholarships On top of that in a bankruptcy college debt can never be written off You know, there's always been this stereotype that Ivy League and expensive college diplomas are more valuable than what they really cost in my mind They aren't an undergraduate degree from one of those Ivy League places does not necessarily provide a better preparation for life And may actually have the reverse effect. That's my mini rant for today. Johnny signed Dave Well, thanks for that Dave and who is not in a position to agree with you there though

[18:12] I have to admit the guys I know and I know a few that went to Ivy League schools who somehow got in with scholarships I'm talking about way back when in the 70s and 80s Every last one of them told me it was not about the education but the connections you make when you're there Especially with the guys you're stuck with in the dorm In fact one friend of mine mark who went to Harvard he told me on his particular dorm room floor There were two kids with billionaire fathers one Japanese kid whose last name was Hitachi Yep, like the tool company and his own roommate was the son of a Saudi prince And what that meant for my buddy mark when he graduated from law school All he had to do is phone up one of these guys and soon enough He had a couple of six-figure job offers to choose from right out of school with no experience

[19:00] Meanwhile, Jimmy another buddy of mine who graduated from law school at the University of Wisconsin Top in his class too though with middle class parents who had no connections He had quite a few job offers too all of them in the range of 40 to 45 grand A typical high-end salary at the time for a brand new law school graduate Now, of course, my buddy mark who went to harvard said he could have gone to any state school But there would be no way that he'd end up with friends who were sons of billionaires and Saudi princes That's the real benefit of an ivy league education the kind of connections you could never make at a state school Even though a state school education could be as good or better than an ivy league one Now one thing dave didn't hit on is the fact that the vast majority of college kids select a major That will not provide them a decent standard of living

[19:48] Once they graduate they listen to their idiot parents and high school counselors who tell them go for a career That'll make you happy do something that you love instead of saying go for a career That's in big demand. So you don't have to work at starbucks The truth is if you pick a career that's in big demand It's not going to be an easy haul through college And as dave said if you leave those big decisions to an immature 18 year old kid Most will be there for the socializing and the partying and they'll go for the low-hanging fruit degree like journalism drama Business admin gender studies or psychology now to me One of the most interesting secondary effects of the coronavirus thing is that it's put the theme of home and online school And diplomas up front in everyone's face like never before

[20:35] Soon all those brick-and-mortar schools will be a thing of the past Of course, some of them will still be around but in very streamlined form for example All the scientific biological and engineering schools have labs and you have to go to a lab for hands-on physical experiments So that won't change much But for everything else the future is online learning except of course the big drawback being the lack of the usual social Interactions you get with people at school. We'll have to see how that plays out But definitely the days of brick-and-mortar traditional schools are over and with that you've eliminated expensive infrastructure Maintenance heat air conditioning rent a cops parking lots insurance property taxes That should reduce tuition by at least 75 Who knows university degrees may actually be affordable again

[21:24] So then what's this have to do with latin america? Well, i'm getting to it now as you may or may not know latin america has some very excellent private universities Forget about the public ones. They suck, but the private ones some of them are so top-notch You just wouldn't believe it. In fact you long-time listeners heard me talk about one particular one called ufm university of francisco maro It's in guadamala city. It's the only completely libertarian university in the world. That is they take no money from any government No grants or loans from governments either the curriculum is a hundred percent bilingual and it's so highly regarded worldwide That for example, if you get a medical degree a doctor's degree You're automatically accepted at harvard medical school to train in a medical specialty like neurology nephrology dermatology

[22:12] practically anyology Now you have to ask yourself Why would harvard medical school offer such a deal and I know it sounds out of this world Well, you can find out exactly why for yourself by coming to my expat insider seminar coming up friday august 21st through thursday August 27th Now if you plan on attending you'll see that university for yourself You'll get boots on the ground and you'll know exactly what i'm talking about by the way That's the same university ufm that had the very first accredited crypto bitcoin course in the world Taught by none other than the famous bitcoin dan who by the way came I think to my third expat insider seminar Something like eight and a half years ago. I'm on seminar number 18 now So when bitcoin dan came down eight and a half years ago

[22:58] He decided to stay permanently in guadamala and now he's on the faculty of one of the leading Universities you've never heard of in the world and of course if you come down to the seminar You'll meet bitcoin dan and oscar minor. They do a presentation at the seminar, too Oh, and I forgot to tell you about the tuition at ufm for undergrad. It's about $5,000 a year and if you go to medical school or one of the graduate school programs like law or architecture It's something like seven or eight thousand bucks a year. Yep. You heard me right five to eight thousand dollars a year It's equivalent to any ivy league school up in the states where you pay 30 to 50 grand a year But you know talk is cheap. You have to come down and see it for yourself Now to get on the seminar waiting list send me an email the expat files at gmail.com

[23:46] Now at the seminar after bitcoin dan and oscar the crypto minor do their thing People will inevitably come up to me later and say johnny I really want to get into this crypto thing, but I need someone to hold my hand through it I don't have the confidence I don't know enough to go all in And you know, it is true As you get started you'll find you have a lot of questions along the way that just can't be easily answered By just looking up stuff on the internet or checking out youtube and that's why one of our other long-time crypto users Captain mango himself has come up with a solution. He's been in crypto since 2013 when there was only bitcoin No, litecoin ethereum. None of them. He's one of the early adopters. He's been in it over seven years now Well, you know with all the inquiries I get from people who really want to get into crypto

[24:33] But just don't have the confidence or knowledge to push ahead. Well as luck would have it Captain mango has put together a one-on-one hand-holding crypto consulting service No matter what stage you're at. He's the guy that'll walk you through it and smooth out all the humps He'll start you out at ground zero and train you right up Here's how it works Once you get in touch with captain mango He'll set up a secure encrypted chat line with you using an exclusive end-to-end encryption Skype-like program that bitcoin dan developed. Well once you connect you learn all about the different cryptocurrencies Why so many different cryptos exist? They're different purposes the ones that will and won't stand the test of time scams and how to avoid them You'll learn crypto jargon and buzzwords. There's plenty of those you'll learn about periodic special conditions called halvings and forks

[25:24] You'll learn about all the types of cryptocurrency wallets cold wallets online wallets their uses their levels of security and what he recommends He'll show you how to download and utilize free desktop wallets and his favorite picks and ones to avoid He'll show you how to receive and send and buy Cryptocurrency safely how to track them and analyze them in real time once you've bought some You'll learn how to read those cryptocurrency charts like for example on the main crypto sites coinmarketcap.com and exodus You'll also learn the ins and outs of using cryptocurrency Exchanges like coinbase bid pay and binance and how to shift between your cryptos and dollars in your bank account How to purchase items and send payments with crypto crypto credit cards how to maintain anonymity and safety

[26:12] With your transactions and how to make money with crypto after all Captain mango's been in the crypto game over seven years and most of the so-called gurus you see on youtube That have daily podcasts and such have only been around two or three years And though they try to come off as experts They haven't been in the game half as long as captain mango By the way, if you're coming down to my august expat insider seminar, you'll be hanging with him He always helps out at the seminars So now i'm happy to say that finally I can fully recommend to everyone who's skittish about getting into crypto You've got captain mango at your service who will hold your hand through it all Now, you know, the markets are in complete chaos right now Especially now that the everything bubble's been popped

[26:57] So then what are the very smart people saying the ones that aren't joined at the hip to government bullshitters in mass media? They're saying get the hell out of stocks bonds leverage and debt They say diversify get some physical gold silver and bitcoin So for all the details on how you can master bitcoin and cryptocurrencies yourself Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com and i'll send you the details regarding captain mango's crypto Consultation service along with a checklist to get you started. It could be besides listening to this show the best decision you've ever made 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

[27:44] 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