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I apologize if the thread title comes across as a bit provocative , but I definitely don't intend on being the catalyst for a flame war . I'm only posing this question out of sociological curiosity , so please don't ruin this thread with the usual shenanigans ye typical race related thread offenders .
It's a commonly held view that white people in Latin America tend to be affluent or rich . Which begs the obvious question whether substantial numbers of poor and working class white people exist in that part of the world . I realize this question may be a bit stupid due to the existence of Argentina and Uruguay , however since the majority of Latin American countries aren't majority white , I think it has some validity . I also know that the term " white " doesn't exactly mean the same thing in Latin America as it does in Anglo America , but that's a whole different can of worms that I don't want to get into on this thread .
Anyways do certain majority nonwhite countries in Latin America have substantial numbers of poor/working class white people ? Do said group of people have a different sense of identity than their nonwhite counterparts ? Do people from humble backgrounds tend to stick together regardless of racial origin ? Also do poor/working class white people differ in any significant way from their Anglo American counterparts aside from obvious cultural differences ?
I apologize if the thread title comes across as a bit provocative , but I definitely don't intend on being the catalyst for a flame war . I'm only posing this question out of sociological curiosity , so please don't ruin this thread with the usual shenanigans ye typical race related thread offenders .
It's a commonly held view that white people in Latin America tend to be affluent or rich . Which begs the obvious question whether substantial numbers of poor and working class white people exist in that part of the world . I realize this question may be a bit stupid due to the existence of Argentina and Uruguay , however since the majority of Latin American countries aren't majority white , I think it has some validity . I also know that the term " white " doesn't exactly mean the same thing in Latin America as it does in Anglo America , but that's a whole different can of worms that I don't want to get into on this thread .
Anyways do certain majority nonwhite countries in Latin America have substantial numbers of poor/working class white people ? Do said group of people have a different sense of identity than their nonwhite counterparts ? Do people from humble backgrounds tend to stick together regardless of racial origin ? Also do poor/working class white people differ in any significant way from their Anglo American counterparts aside from obvious cultural differences ?
There are a lot of white working class people in Latin America, but nobody cares about it.
When you have news in the United States constantly talking about a topic like this, then you begin to care. But only because race is being drilled into your mind a lot and all the time. If you are born in this country, then you might not realize that this is being done on purpose to make Americans more racially obsessed for whatever purpose or gain.
So, my answer is that there is indeed a lot of white working class Latin-Americans, but nobody really pays attention to it. Nobody talks about it on TV or the news.
There are a lot of white working class people in Latin America, but nobody cares about it.
When you have news in the United States constantly talking about a topic like this, then you begin to care. But only because race is being drilled into your mind a lot and all the time. If you are born in this country, then you might not realize that this is being done on purpose to make Americans more racially obsessed for whatever purpose or gain.
So, my answer is that there is indeed a lot of white working class Latin-Americans, but nobody really pays attention to it. Nobody talks about it on TV or the news.
That's interesting since I've read that ( in many ways ) race is a much bigger issue in Latin America than Anglo America .
I have not been to many Latin American countries. I plan on visiting Ecuador in November but of the two countries I have been to in Latin America and the two my daughter visited there were not a lot of poor white Anglo-Americans living there. Most countries so far are pretty closed to allowing emigration. It takes money to move there so by extension you need to have money.
Now to say that someone that is living on just United States social security and living in Latin America, that is a different story. Living here on SS in many parts of this country is tantamount to living just above the poverty line if not on it. Moving abroad with just SS can be done and has been done by many people. In those cases SS provides a very nice living in poorer Latin America.
Emigration to Ecuador for example requires a person to have their own source of income of $800.00 a month. That should explain why many people do become ex-pats in Latin America.
I have not been to many Latin American countries. I plan on visiting Ecuador in November but of the two countries I have been to in Latin America and the two my daughter visited there were not a lot of poor white Anglo-Americans living there. Most countries so far are pretty closed to allowing emigration. It takes money to move there so by extension you need to have money.
Now to say that someone that is living on just United States social security and living in Latin America, that is a different story. Living here on SS in many parts of this country is tantamount to living just above the poverty line if not on it. Moving abroad with just SS can be done and has been done by many people. In those cases SS provides a very nice living in poorer Latin America.
Emigration to Ecuador for example requires a person to have their own source of income of $800.00 a month. That should explain why many people do become ex-pats in Latin America.
I don't think many lower income Americans in general move abroad , but that's a topic unto itself . That said I don't doubt that one could live well on a Social Security check in a non expensive part of Latin America . It really does beg the question of why low income Americans seem less likely to move to cheaper countries , but I digress .
Will probably sound racist but the truth is that white people generally thrive wherever they are...South America, North America, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong....doesn't mean that there aren't some that are poor because that will always be the case but in general, whites thrive where they are.
I worked in Peru for 16 months and the white people there thrive too.
I don't think many lower income Americans in general move abroad , but that's a topic unto itself . That said I don't doubt that one could live well on a Social Security check in a non expensive part of Latin America . It really does beg the question of why low income Americans seem less likely to move to cheaper countries , but I digress .
Miss family, generally poorer infrastructure and more crime, miss out on Medicare, language/cultural issues. As I mentioned above, I lived and worked in Arequipa, Peru for over a year and you could definitely live okay on a decent SS check there...I would consider that as an option if I thought I would struggle financially in retirement in the US.
That's interesting since I've read that ( in many ways ) race is a much bigger issue in Latin America than Anglo America .
Thanks for the answer regardless .
You have to be careful with some of the trolls that will make false claims.
I come from Cuba and I can assure you race is never seen in the news, political propaganda or is a mayor factor in people daily lives. I haven't seen anything that indicates race is also a mayor factor in other Latin American countries, at least from a propaganda stand point. News are not constantly reminding people of race in other countries.
Yes, there are racist people, there are prejudices and discrimination too. There is all of that, but people still don't constantly think about race because there isn't something reminding people about race. Just turn on CNN, Fox News, go to msn, yahoo, any website, and all you see is race, race, race.
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