#960 – The Expat Files: Lockdowns, Residency, and the Future of Expatriate Life

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 if you've been paying attention to the news in Latin America You've probably noticed that here and there various Latin American presidents will abruptly announce a complete lockdown For three days five days two weeks, whatever

[00:47] It's really become quite the common thing when I talk about a complete shutdown I mean you can't even go out during the day unless you go into the hospital a doctor or You're going out for some kind of emergency and then after a day or two the public gets really pissed off and they start Violating the hell out of that order and we're down to the usual suspect kind of lockdown Where you can go anywhere in the daytime and then at five six seven or nine, whatever there's a curfew So you amble on home and that's what it's like in the majority of Latin countries right now as for easing up on lockdown The majority of Central American countries will be opening up on June 1st in a big way But in South America as mentioned, they're lagging Central America by a couple of weeks They've still got some heavy lockdowns But about these complete shutdowns that last just a couple of days or a week or two

[01:33] I'd like to go into a little detail about what that's all about and why those kind of measures are quickly abandoned Oh and about some real solid predictions when all of Central America and the Caribbean will be pretty much completely open Except for the masks in the social distancing and all that we're looking at mid to late June and around early July With most of South America, which brings us to this email from Ross. He says Johnny I've read on the US State Department website that the state of calamity That would be complete lockdown started by the Guatemalan government on March 5th is set to expire on June 5th What do you think the likelihood is that it will be extended beyond June 5th? And also am I correct that the time period for gringo and expat residents in Guatemala to get there one day in the country

[02:19] Fulfilled will be extended for the duration of this so-called state of calamity or lockdown Signed Ross. All right What Ross is referring to now is the fact that if you have your temporary or permanent residency in Guatemala to maintain it You have to come back to the country at least one day a year And he's wondering how the government's gonna handle that considering the lockdowns and airport closures and such Well Ross what they're gonna do and all Latin American countries are gonna do who are in the same spot You know people who've got residency and need to have a certain amount of time back in the country to keep it going That is keep it legal and running. They're just not gonna count the lockdown days in the case of Guatemala They'll tack it on. I expect there'll be lots of wiggle room too for people who are right on the edge

[03:06] I mean look even though Latin government officials might be total large-ass idiots They're not dumb enough to kill the goose that laid the golden egg in effect That's what gringos and expats move into their country represent since we arrived bearing gifts and investment dough We buy nice cars start businesses hire locals and we buy and build and rent nice properties in great neighborhoods The minute one of us gringos or Europeans land in a Latin country and apply for residency We are favored and special visitors Because you know, it's just by qualifying for residency You have to show a certain amount of wealth and income and that level of income whether it's fifteen hundred two thousand or twenty five Hundred bucks a month depending on the country you're going to that kind of monthly income for a Latino

[03:53] Would put him in the upper middle-class income bracket and since only about one in ten Latinos make that kind of dough about ten percent We're exactly the kind of people they want immigrating to their country What a difference from the sweaty masses that try to immigrate to the US whose income and resources put them in the dirt poor category In other words, not at all the kind of people you want to encourage to immigrate to your country I know I know it's so un-pc to say that plus it's totally contrary to what's inscribed on the plaque That you find on the Statue of Liberty Which by the way says quote give me your tired your poor your huddled masses Yearning to breathe free the wrenched refuse of your teeming shore send these the homeless tempest toss to me

[04:38] I lift my lamp beside the golden door Hmm nice words and they served the US very well for a long long time But you know as so many northern European countries have done like Switzerland Denmark Luxembourg Netherlands Belgium and the light They're saying they've had enough unskilled immigration. Sorry, it's not 1880 anymore. We're all full up My question is why can they get away with saying and doing that and they're all highly educated enlightened first-world European countries But if you say that in the US, you're likely to get called a bigot and a racist So the Statue of Liberty inaugurated in 1883 ended up with that plaque which was basically a welcome mat But the world was absolutely a different place then the US was strictly underdeveloped in the Wild West

[05:24] Well, it was still wide open and well wild So the US was prepared to absorb a huge number of immigrants today, you know It's an absolute different ballgame, but you know that already anyway speaking again How Latin presidents have willy-nilly forced lockdowns and airport closures don't fret not to worry you guys and gals We need to get that one day in or even multiple days in depending on the country to maintain your residency You know with this virus thing It seems like every single lard-ass dickhead Latin president has to push the panic button at least once then close down everything including the airports then as mentioned the masses get pissed off for lack of making a living or rooting for their favorite sports team and They disobey and take to the streets then the presidential idiot charge and his ass swipe food liquors start worrying that they may not get reelected and

[06:15] So the lockdowns are lifted as fast as they were imposed Just remember low IQ government morons are pretty predictable You know, it really is all about getting reelected and preserving their jobs not preserving their country Remember for politicians job. Number one is getting reelected job. Number two is enriching your friends and relatives job number three is to try not to steal so much that when you're out of office, you don't end up in the slammer and That brings us to this little exposition that mr. Harris just sent me He's an expat gringo living in Puerto Rico And of course, we always include Puerto Rico when we talk about the 20 Latin American countries Even though it's technically a US possession. It's still a hundred percent Latino and culture and attitude Though it's got one huge advantage and distinction over all other Latin countries

[07:04] If you're born there you automatically get a US passport which for Latin Americans It's practically like winning the lottery and if you don't believe that I suggest if you know enough Spanish come down here Latin America and ask any average Latino what he'd ask for if the genie appeared gave him five wishes I guarantee one would be to live in the US and another would be to have a green card So he could live there legally That's why any Latino who is lucky enough to have been born in Puerto Rico has already won that lottery and he knows it But the question has always been if Puerto Rico is a US protectorate a territory With tons of aid and funds coming from the mainland Why has it remained just as third world as the rest of Latin America? Like a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks being adopted into a wealthy family

[07:53] Eventually, most of those kids absorbed those traits completely and blend right in but somehow that never happened with Puerto Rico in the 122 years since it's been a US position. It hasn't closed the economic social or wealth gap at all It's still by all measures just a third world Latin country What's up with that? Well, let's try to find out why starting with this email from mr Harris who's living in Puerto Rico right now. I'll paraphrase this a bit as usual, you know cut out the boring parts boring for me Anyway, you know, I got to get some fun out of this He says Johnny one of the craziest things about living in Puerto Rico is the political leadership Is that never-ending parade of highly corrupted? Certifiable idiots the latest governor dirtbag of Puerto Rico seems hell-bent on destroying every remaining scrap of posterity

[08:42] on this island What most people don't know is that Puerto Rico was one of the first places in the US to order a full Lactown with this coronavirus thing and it may very well be the last place to open up The governor idiot ordered everyone to shelter in place starting March 15 and the order is still in effect as I write this on May 20th and the rules have been completely ridiculous to going to the beach Which is everyone's pastime here is completely outlawed But it's perfectly acceptable to stand in a crowded line at the grocery store One of the great things however about Puerto Rico is that nobody here really cares what the government says Nobody gives it People here are happily ignoring idiot politicians that certainly comes from how Puerto Ricans naturally

[09:32] Distrust their government local politicians and bureaucrats have been robbing and stealing longer than anyone can remember and the people know that For example, the FBI recently came down here and arrested a number of top government officials for stealing federal aid That was supposed to have gone for Hurricane Maria recovery efforts You may have read about that, but probably not because it seems like people up in the United States Don't really care about Puerto Rico in the least It's only Puerto Ricans on the mainland in the states who care anything at all about news coming out of Puerto Rico Most non Latino Americans have never been there to them It's just a little obscure dot on the map if they can even find it Somewhere close to Florida within spitting distance of Cuba full disclosure before my first trip down

[10:20] I could barely find it on a globe myself and Earlier this year when Puerto Rico suffered a series of earthquakes the US government sent emergency supplies But as soon as the supplies ended up in the Puerto Rican government's hands, they mysteriously disappeared We're talking about Millions of dollars worth then last month Puerto Rico's government entered into a contract to buy faulty overpriced covid test kits from two companies that have personal and financial ties to the current administration basically, we're talking about tens of millions of dollars, which is a lot of money for this place of Bullshit contracts that went into pockets of friends of the ruling party and the list goes on and on it never ends And the people here know it Puerto Ricans have no illusions that their government is on their side

[11:08] They know that many practically all of the people in charge are either incompetent or criminals or both That's why no one here really cares at all What the government says the proof of that is a friend of mine just sent me a video from a local beach from this Sunday morning showing thousands of people out enjoying the Sun in the sea in Open defiance of lockdown rules. You can even see a couple of cops standing around sucking down snow cones I really hope this kind of attitude spreads worldwide I know it exists here in Puerto Rico and the rest of Latin America to me That's one of the many silver linings of this pandemic more people may finally wake up All right, mr. Harris. Thanks for that Puerto Rican update, but I have to tell you that's exactly the same attitude

[11:54] I'm experiencing myself here in Latin America and what I'm hearing from other gringos and expats What you're saying about Puerto Rico extends to everywhere in Latin America Latinos are flaunting all the rules They're used to it. How many times have you heard me say there are three national past times in Latin America? number one tax evasion and getting over on government number two soccer They call it football down here as opposed to football up in the states that Latin Americans call football Americano American football. I know I know there are three countries that are exceptions to that rule, too That would be Puerto Rico Cuba and the Dominican Republic where their national sporting past time is baseball But you knew that already then we have the third Latino national past time Womanizing which is strictly a Latino guy thing, of course, not that Latina women don't do it, too

[12:43] I mean it takes two to tango, right? But it's just that over and over again I hear from Latina women who have cheated They would never have done it if their husband or boyfriend would not done it first Repeatedly and you know what after 30 years of living down here. I've got no reason to doubt it So getting back to the question of why Puerto Rico after being a US territory for over a hundred years is still an entrenched Third world country. Well, you know, there's a good explanation for that It goes back to the Latino system of law and the colonial Spanish roots It is heavily related to the vast amount of paperwork and bureaucracy That's practically suffocating in short. Here's the rundown the Royals in Spain We're gaining vast wealth by eluding the Americas basically stealing all the gold silver and minerals that could get their hands on

[13:29] That's how Spain became such a huge power in the 16th and 17th century But there was a lot of thievery going on and the colonies were so many thousands of miles away And it would take a boat to go back and forth from Spain to the new world carrying those riches many months to do the round trip so to avoid pilferage a Triplicate accounting system was developed. So there were three sets of paperwork that had to go along with every boat to the new world three sets of books Why three well because each of three parties would get one third of the spoils a third would go to the crown in Spain A third would go to the captain of the ship and a third would go to the Explorer or conquistador Who actually stole the plunderer in the new world, you know guys like Columbus Cortez and Pizarro So going way back to the days of Columbus

[14:16] Everything had to be in triplicate with bribery theft and piracy along every link in that chain That's the Spanish legacy and why latinos are so used to ship loads of paperwork and corruption graph lies And thievery especially from their governments, of course, it was the same with the French and English landed in North America But after the American Revolution and they booted the royals out and all the conservative Christian religious sex Quakers Puritans masons and such they were strict and righteous and heavily influenced the founding fathers In other words, they gave the royals a finger and started their country off on a very righteous foot From then on they went by the strict rule of law or else something that never happened in latin america Where the old corrupt bookkeeping systems and bureaucracies prevailed and you know

[15:04] You can read about all this stuff in the history books But it never really impacts you until you see it in action as for me I'll never forget the moment I realized just how bad corrupt and how totally disorganized latin american government bureaucracies are You see some 30 years ago when I first landed in latin america was always by air, of course And you know airports are organized and international airports have to abide by international standards Or they won't be certified and the big carriers won't land and they'll lose a lot of business Now the very first time I ever went through a latin american land border was between the us and tijuana way back in 1980 And you know back then they just waved it right through So I didn't see the real mess that was going on in the government buildings and offices that were housed there I was a tourist so they just waved me right through

[15:52] Then around 1990 when I was in Costa Rica I took a little bus trip from san jose, costa rica to managua. Nicaragua back then there were a few tourists It was way off the beaten path And when I got off the bus to get my passport stamped, etc All of us passengers shuffled out went into a government building We were stuck there a half an hour or so We all stood in line at the one window in five that was open for business Meanwhile, you could see through the big glass windows. There were maybe 10 other people working They're all sitting around on their dead asses doing nothing. It was as if I was at a wax museum Practically no sign of intelligent life at all Remember this was before the age of the cell phone. So no one was obsessing over a screen. They didn't exist yet Now in that half hour, I was standing in line. I couldn't help but notice the entire back wall had shelves to the ceiling

[16:40] So overloaded with tens of thousands of dusty dirty dog-eared files and papers The shelves were actually bowing and buckling under the weight. I'm serious There must have been millions of documents and i'm sure in that little nicaraguan border station They had documents that dated back hundreds of years and they hadn't been touched Looked at or even dusted off in all that time And as for me by the time I walked out of there I had signed three sets of papers in triplicate, too Yep, I did my part and added to that amazingly useless pile of garbage. That's when I realized Latinas will never change Bureaucracy is in their blood. They're actually sort of comforted by it It's almost as if they feel out of place if they haven't filled out a bunch of forms or found some kind of line to stand in

[17:27] I spotted that years ago when there wasn't a keyboard in the house Now, of course these days everything's computerized So then what about all those millions and millions of moldy ancient dog-eared files? Well, like one immigration official told me they could scan them all one by one But there would be no way at all to cross-reference anything besides that many of them were moldy waterlogged and eaten out by insects So when latin governments started computerizing things in a big way around 10 years ago now, they just said screw it They didn't even try to scan or catalog the old documents. They're still sitting there in little border stations and warehouses rotten away So the new era of bureaucracy confusion and chaos started around 2005 That was ground zero day one when most latin governments first fired up windows xp ekis pay

[18:16] All this points to the fact that having a plan b outside the u.s Especially in latin america is a fantastic idea Why because the case of living as a free independent person in the u.s is no longer possible That option has expired and though all third world countries including latin america will try to adopt similar laws and restrictions The truth is it's really just lip service when it comes to latin america If you don't believe it if you need more proof, just remember that about 30 percent of all economic activity in latin america Is gray market off the books cash? You've got 30 in some cases more of latinos who don't pay taxes. They're completely off the books That's why all governments here in latin america would completely die on the vine if they didn't have a vat tax

[19:03] You know called in english-speaking countries a value added tax or eva Here in latin america that and gas taxes are the only way latin governments survive Even if you're a working person or have a business on the books Everyone fiddles with or cheats on their taxes latin governments are totally aware of it though They've got no barnstorming swat like irs teams battering down doors Confiscating assets and hauling people away hard ass measures like that don't exist But it is true latin governments and the bureaucrats in power are just as malignant and corrupt as the politicians up north The thing is they're all cheating on their taxes, too Now in my experience, I found that latino lawyers know all the loopholes and how to pay minimum taxes So then you might ask are they cheats? Of course

[19:49] They won't admit it though. They'll use slightly kinder terminology If you ask them outright if they cheat on their taxes, they'll say no, but they use every available loophole You see it's all about the terminology cheating is too harsh a word here in latin america If you ask a latino lawyer if he evades taxes or doesn't report income He might pause a second and say no, but I do what everyone else does Now if in that moment you said well, then you cheat on your taxes, don't you he'd look at you like you were crazy Another thing you might ask your lawyer is if he knows anyone who's ever done time or has been fined for tax evasion And he's likely to look at you Like you're crazy All right Speaking of freedoms and rights being lost You know the coronavirus is presently being used by the powers that be to remove one freedom after another

[20:39] And of course you'll get them all back when the emergencies calm down Yeah, right that's not gonna happen Not when governors mayors and other ass white politicians are saying we're never going to return to normal You know the thing that makes me think it's almost too late to get to hell out of dodge Is that planned introduction of a federally funded tracking system for all us citizens? So they can know your location 24 7 and track your behavior all the time They've already said they want to collect enough data to calculate a personal risk score And if your score is insufficient you'll be quarantined or denied travel rights not only to foreign countries But to locations like sporting events public transportation even schools china's doing it They had social scoring methods going before the virus

[21:26] Worse yet the new tracking system has been described in the states as being necessary to control those who may refuse vaccinations After all, you know, some people will use their constitutional rights to decline to be vaccinated Though I wouldn't put it past the idiots in congress to change the constitution on that point In other words if you refuse a vaccination, you must be punished and that punishment the loss of certain freedoms The ones you have left that is so then what's the time frame on this? In other words, how much time do you have left to get the hell out of dodge? Well, that all depends on when a quote suitable vaccine comes along then you can bet from that day forward They'll be tracking you and putting personal risk scores on everyone And from that moment forward, it'll be up to some lard ass government bureaucrat to assess whether you'll be allowed to have the privilege to earn

[22:17] A living to socialize to travel to even go shopping at walmart But one thing's for sure your choice to get out of dodge will no longer be a right It'll become a privilege that's not under your control It'll be allowed or not depending on the decision of some shit for brain spurocrat. Oh sure You might be able to appeal it But really come on. Can you imagine having to go to court or kiss up to some kind of appeal board? Just to go on vacation my advice and many people have done it beat a hasty retreat get your ass and your assets out of the states and Use this small window of time before those mandatory vaccines arrive to get the hell out When's that going to be i'd say a vaccine's coming in about six months And you know with all the misinformation and fake news out there. That's just proof that bs sells much better than science

[23:07] Speaking of getting the hell out of dodge You know the easiest way to fast track your plan b and hook up with a great network of people to help you along with it Well, it's by signing up for my week-long august 2020 expat insider seminar. This might very well be your last chance For info and sign up details. Just go to expat plan b.com Oh, and now that the early bird discounts are in effect people are signing up already In fact, i'm looking for a lady who might want to save 750 off the price of a single by sharing double occupancy with another lady who's looking for a roommate So if you're a lady and you're interested in rooming up shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com. We'll work it out You know here and there we talk about solar power and getting out the grid being ready with your own electric power for emergencies

[23:56] Being independent of utility companies, which is always a great thing You know, there's nothing like the feeling of not having to pay an electric bill And knowing if there's a brown or a blackout in the neighborhood It's not going to happen to you now. I know a lot of you are thinking these are very tight and uncertain times So then what about the value of solar energy in uncertain times? I really believe that your ultimate goal should be to have solar power make your investment dependent on the strength of the sun Not the strength of the economy, you know during uncertain times. That's the best time to get into solar Primarily think of the security it gives you the peace of mind that whatever happens you're going to have power For one thing, you know when everyone's stuck at home during lockdowns and such More members of your family are spending more and more time using electric devices

[24:43] So your energy use is guaranteed to go up solar power reduces your expenses from day one Not to mention your place will be apocalypse proof if you know what I mean, by the way in a recent past show I was talking about solar panels for a fixed off the grid system I mentioned how you can go on olx.com in practically every latin country and buy 330 or 370 watt panels for a hundred bucks a piece That means if you have 5000 watts worth of solar panels on your roof You'll need around 15 panels for an average house with four family members. That's all you'll ever need That's the good news, but there's even better news Just this year some of the big solar panel manufacturers are coming out with 500 watt panels That means you'll only need 10 solar panels to have all the power you'll ever need in fact

[25:29] One big company jinco solar has come out with a 580 watt panel That's great news It means you'll only need nine panels to have all the electricity you'll ever need of course I'm talking about if you live down here in latin america now Remember if you're up there in mawaki seattle or cleveland ice and snow country you'll need to scale up for sure But this is a show about latin america, right? All right. So anyway, these new 500 to 600 watt panels are out now and for a while Anyway, you'll have to pay full price for them around 200 to 300 bucks each However, i'm sure within a year or so we'll be seeing them on olx.com for 100 to 150 bucks a piece That's just the way things have been going in the solar power industry Every year the panels get more powerful and much less expensive Some other manufacturers have recently unveiled their five to six hundred watt panels too including recent energy

[26:19] Talmex trena solar duomax vertex a lot of them Of course, these higher powered panels are a little bit bigger and a little bit heavier than the regular 360 and 330 watt panels But they all still mount on the same solar racket and they all still come with a 20 or 25 year guarantee And of course since everything in the world degrades over time with solar panels That means if you've got a 25 year guarantee It's guaranteed to put out at least 80 percent of its full power after 25 years of use You can't beat that and in 25 years or whenever you have to replace them for sure We'll be using some kind of paint or roofing material That'll do the job without any panels at all. Who knows? Oh and keep in mind I'm talking about some big panels now You only want to mount them once in a permanent installation in no way are these things portable

[27:07] Portable solar panels are another story entirely and we'll be talking more about portable systems too So stay tuned again If you want my best picks for the latest and greatest portable and permanent solar installations the ones i'm using myself Shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com. Remember. I don't make a cent for promoting this stuff It's just that I hate utility companies and this is our sweet revenge 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

[27:57] nos vamos