Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

May 20, 2009

In Chile I feel like there is a lot of resentment towards the upperclass. I’ve heard people sneer “Cuicos culiados,” simply because they’ve seen a group of elegantly dressed Chileans and La Dehesa (a very wealthy, closed-off neighborhood where many upper class people live) has been referred to more than a time or two as “soul-less.”

In the U.S., there is poverty, of course. It’s a similar vicious cycle, extremely difficult for people to rise above. But, most of us believe that the American Dream still exists. I’ve never heard of a Chilean Dream. There are individual cases that prove the exception to the rule in Chile, but it does seem even more impossible for people to rise above here.

The social classes here seem very much set, if not in stone, than at least quickly drying cement. You are born into a wealthy family. Certain last names convey status and that alone can take someone far. It often seems like the nanas of this country accept that being a cleaning lady forever is their lot in life, and they won’t be able to change things so why try. While the upper class, accepts that they are simply deserving of the wealth they were born into.Â There isn’t a whole lot of social climbing going on.

Even living in Providencia, which is certainly a very nice neighborhood, but by no means the creme de la creme, I get the sense that I have to defend myself and tell people that I used to live in Estacion Central or Chileans will instantly assume that I’m a “cuica culiada,” too and judge me negatively for it.

In the U.S., there is distinctive culture of giving back, be it through time or money — and that prevails among all social classes. Overall, I found this information:

In 2006, Americans gave about $295 billion to charity. This was up 4.2 percent over 2005 levels, and charitable giving has generally risen faster than the growth of the American economy for more than half a century. Correcting for inflation and population changes, GDP per person in America has risen over the past 50 years by about 150 percent, while charitable giving per person has risen by about 190 percent. That is, the average American family has gotten much richer in real terms over the past half century, and charitable giving has more than kept pace with this trend.

While it is definitely unfair to directly compare Chile to the U.S. in terms of charitable donations, since clearly a developed country has more disposable income to give, the same article also gave the following stats simply comparing the U.S. against the rest of the developed world.

No developed country approaches American giving. For example, in 1995 (the most recent year for which data are available), Americans gave, per capita, three and a half times as much to causes and charities as the French, seven times as much as the Germans, and 14 times as much as the Italians. Similarly, in 1998, Americans were 15 percent more likely to volunteer their time than the Dutch, 21 percent more likely than the Swiss, and 32 percent more likely than the Germans. These differences are not attributable to demographic characteristics such as education, income, age, sex, or marital status. On the contrary, if we look at two people who are identical in all these ways except that one is European and the other American, the probability is still far lower that the European will volunteer than the American.

Maybe this is why in the U.S. we seem to resent our upper class less.Â How can you hate on Bill and Melinda Gates? They’re a couple who gives more away in one year than what most of us will earn in a lifetime. In the U.S. we do turn on those who don’t give. Anyone remember the public backlash when it was revealed during Britney Spears’ divorce case that she only gives $500 dollars a month to charity? We don’t tend to look at giving as something extraordinary, we look at is as almost obligatory if you’re wealthy.

I can’t find any info on percentages of charitable giving in Chile so let’s look at the Teleton, a telethon fundraiser for disabled kids, which is the biggest example of charitable giving here. Sadly, the amount that the big businesses give is pathetic. Falabella, Lider, etc. mostly do promotions where they’ll only give a certain amount if X amount of Chileans go make purchases in their store that day. Essentially, and I can’t find stats so again, I’m just guessing, I’d think that they’re earning way more off the deal than they’re giving.

Leonardo Farkas, a Chilean (self-made, or so he says) millionaire in mining, aside from Don Mario who started the Teleton decades ago, is probably the biggest and most well-known philanthropist in Chile. Unsurprisingly he lived in the U.S. for a big chunk of his life, and, correct me if I’m wrong, still lives there.Â I’ve seen a few interviews with him and he is extremely critical of the Chilean upper class for their lack of generosity. After donating $1.5 million dollars to the Teleton last year, he said he was going to round up other millionaires in Chile and try to start a nation-wide movement to be more philanthropic.

Oh, and did I mention he’s a freaking punk with a curly mullet-fro? Love it!

In the U.S., coming from the lower class, I’ve heard people be jealous, and sort of wistful of the upper class, hoping that someday that could be them. But I’ve never heard the kind of extreme resentment that I’ve heard in Chile. If I had to guess I would say I would say that’s because A. We think that our ruling class has earned their status in life by working their way up. B. The American Dream, or myth of the American Dream makes even the poorest think that someday they too could be wealthy. And, C. Our ruling class gives back more making us hate them significantly less.

Please remember, before you start leaving me hate comments about how the U.S. sucks in terms of social inequality or whatever…yes. Yes, it does. As I’ve said before, the U.S. sucking and Chile sucking are NOT mutually exclusive. However, in terms of being charitable the U.S. does not suck and that’s a good thing. I hope that as GDP in Chile increases so will generosity, because right now, as I see it, it’s sorely lacking.

59 Comments

Subscribe to comment feed

Facebook comments:

One Trackback

58 Comments

btw, es cierto que farkas es un bicho raro aca…me acuerdo que fui a un carrete justo el dia final de la teleton y todos nos pusimos a mirar la tele cuando el salio y dijo “Y DONO UN MILLON DE DOLARES” y nosotros “queeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”. mucha gente lo odia (mi mama lo detesta jaja), pero a mi me cae bien…es verdad que le encanta que lo miren, pero igual da plata y eso es bueno; todo chile sabe que lo que hacen las grandes tiendas para la teleton es un “scam” que solo los ayuda a ellos y no a la gente q lo necesita, y la teleton si que ayuda! lo bueno es que farkas fue imitado asi que yo creo que este aÃ±o van a haber mas tipos como el

Comment by fran — May 24, 2009 @ 5:12 pm

Reply
To Amanda and Kyle,
That happens in Chile and more often than what you think. My grandparents were also immigrants, they became orphans because of tuberculosis around 1920 and however they manage to progress and give their family a better life. My father continued that road and thanks to my parents now I have an excellent education that has allowed me to work for two major technological corporations outside Chile.
The fact that some people in Chile are too lazy to try it does not mean that it does not happen. I've known many people that come from families on which they were the first ones to have higher education and the first ones capable of moving to a better situation in life.
If you look under the surface you'll see many cases of people moving the social ladder. In my opinion the problem is not the lack of mobility, but the fact that many people forget that their families worked hard for them to have opportunities and think they “deserve” their life style. It is sad to see some people that after graduating from University, sever ties to their families, change their last names and try to pretend they have always been on that position.
Regarding charity donations in Chile, I totally agree. We still have “plenty of room for improvement”.

Comment by Carlos — May 27, 2009 @ 2:07 pm

Reply
Hi Kye, I am Chilean, first of all nice photos and your spontaneous attitude to life gives a fresh and naive touch to your blog. I gather you are an informed and educated person so you must be aware of what is going on in the world today. USA is going under, and the rest of the world is going to suffer because of it. Charity of course will be a luxury few people will be able to afford as the economic situation worsens when credit Default swaps crisis blows out in the USA this summer. Being such a rich country, rapidly getting a lot poorer, the kind of money the Federal Reserve is flushing into the private sector are just astronomical, any considerations about money used for charity in the past and the future, is just a bad joke. Considerations apart, Chile has always been underdeveloped and poor by USA standards, charity has and it will be an important source of resources to aid some of the most needed people. Don Fco and Farkas are just media star millionares exposed by TV. To name just a few, FundaciÃ³n Las Rosas, Un Techo para Chile, Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, la Cruza Roja, have carried out painstaking work to provide education, shelter, access to medical aid for those in need. I must emphasize that lots of this charity effort is carried out by voluntaries vinculated to the Church, poor people helping other poor people. Of course charity is not enough and BacheletÂ´s Government has invested some more money in securing more efficient Social Services and lots of us think this is just cosmetic. The upper class in Chile, well are the upper class, living in a world of fantasy, or in a world of luxury, or in a world of religious and intelectual castration like the Legionarios de Cristo or the Opus Dei. Their lives revolve around those like them and thatÂ´s it. It is an autistic world. Social resentment in Chile is noticeable today for many reasons but one of the most striking ones is the lack of social mobility, and that sucks. It is enraging to have a boss who had an elite education, went to expensive schools and at work , lacks the most basic decent professional standards to proportionate intelligent advice or decisions. What is worse, people who have received a better education but come from more modest backgrounds, suddenly forget their upbringins and start behaving in just the manner as the real original ones. That`s social climbing and in Chile it has reached epidemic proportions. With respect to your trip all the best you are young, fresh and beautiful I suggest you visit the follwing link it may help in your adventure with your hubby. Regards.

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/travel-ninja/

Comment by Alejandro — June 6, 2009 @ 6:04 am

Reply
So you know where to go the next time you are switzerland clothing looking for that something special.Here at Pure and Honest Kids, you will find clothes for every occasion, whether you are interested in regular day to day wear, or an outfit for that extraordinary occasion.

Comment by JackNBrown — September 22, 2009 @ 10:08 am

Reply
That's because most rich people in Chile suck. I'm a businessman and have nothing against making money. I'd rather be dead than live in such a stuffy class based society where all they care about is where you went to high school, your last name, what street you live on. Thank God I was born in the USA and not Chile.

Comment by laowai — October 7, 2009 @ 4:42 pm

Reply
That's because most rich people in Chile suck. I'm a businessman and have nothing against making money. I'd rather be dead than live in such a stuffy class based society where all they care about is where you went to high school, your last name, what street you live on. Thank God I was born in the USA and not Chile.

Comment by laowai — October 7, 2009 @ 11:42 pm

Reply
What can I say?…spot on article!!!
I am Chilean and I have had to withstand such type of discrimination many a time: “ha! but you are just another Flores person, so don't complain as you know you can't aspire to anything else”.
This type of thing is one of the most enduring gifts brought to these shores by our forefathers from mother Spain. A sort of medieval conception of society, bearing in mind that spaniards start conquering AmÃ©rica were at the end of their Middle Ages (1500's). It has lasted so long out of utter fear of being disposesssed, scorn for darker races, sheer selfishness, greed, snobbism and inferiority complex.
The funny thing is that it has been thoroughly documented that our “rich” during the colonial days to early independence could at best resemble the level of an artisan in Europe, so poor looking they were.
So, all the above together with the fact that Chile was created as a frontier colony (or a “Garrison” outpost) where the many were soldiers and the few were settlers, it's isolation due to immense natural boundaries and the resistant snobbism of the immigrants of the following decades, produced a sour mix: The Stiff Upper Lip Upper Class Ã la chilienne. A heavy duty breed whose greed and fear knows no containment, with a skin so thick that has remained unchanged for 2Â½ centuries and survived through an independence process, revolutions, wars, the education of the lower classes, an indefatigable and squalid middle class, social and internatoinal questioning and, truly, whatever is throw at them. Many of their members are simply geniuses, capable of distorting reality and facts so skillfully as to justify their existance and even command some degree of loyalty from the poor they fear.
That, my dear Usonian (to use a Walt Whitman term) is not the Chilean Dream, but its nightmere. A one that can not wake up still.

Comment by Bluflores — July 15, 2010 @ 5:57 am

Reply
I liked your post, I’m Chilean and studying at Grad school in Michigan now. We’ve been talking in class about issues of social justice and privilege, and actually it’s funny reading your perception regarding social class in Chile, as it’s sometimes strange for me to understand issues of race/ethnicity here in the States. In general, since Chile is a small country and cohesive society the influence of social networks and nepostism is very strong, and it affects every aspect of life. We, the Chileans are always trying to profile socially people by questioning things like: where do you live?, in which high school did you study?, what’s your father work?(I’m 31 and many people still makes me that dull question.) Regardless workplaces, it’s difficult to find other places where people from different backgrounds interact; and therefore, the picture of people from other social classes is very strereotyped. Maybe, that’s the reason because some of your friends think that you are “cuica” because you live in Providencia. You know the place is great but it’s not for the richest. However, since that neighborhood was created for the upper class in the decades of 1920-30, it’s still associated with this kind of people. The bad thing is you cannot rationally talk about the issue with Chileans, if so, people you may be labeled as “communist,” or worse, “resentful.” This is a huge problem, especially when there’s no many places for social interchange.

Comment by DCA — October 27, 2010 @ 9:21 pm

Reply