El que se quemó con leche hasta al jocoque le sopla. “Whoever was burned by milk blows even on the jocoque.” Jocoque is a soured milk product. The saying appears in a study of food in the Mexican refranero, the body of popular sayings, by Herón Pérez Martínez. The study was published by the Institute of Historical Research of the UNAM.
Speaking as Tú
A 2026 article in the Anuario de Letras of the UNAM compares the Mexican forms of address tú and usted. It describes tú as the “tratamiento de la cercanía, la solidaridad y la confianza” (form of address of closeness, solidarity and trust). It describes usted as the form of deference, distance and respect. In one interview in the study, the two speakers settle the question at the start and agree to address each other as tú.
Who Inspires Trust
INEGI carried out its survey ENCIG 2023 from late October to mid-December 2023. “87.4 % dijo que sus familiares eran quienes mayor confianza le inspiraban” (87.4 percent said that their relatives were the ones who inspired the most trust in them).
The statistics institute of Jalisco published the results for that state by degree of trust. Mucha confianza, a lot of trust, went to family from 50.2 percent of respondents, to coworkers from 33.6 percent and to neighbors from 21.4 percent.
Masks
In El laberinto de la soledad, Octavio Paz describes a guarded face: “El mexicano se me aparece como un ser que se encierra y se preserva: máscara el rostro, máscara la sonrisa” (The Mexican appears to me as a being who shuts himself in and protects himself: the face a mask, the smile a mask).
Paz finds the same defense in popular speech. “El ideal de la ‘hombría’ consiste en no ‘rajarse’ nunca. Los que se ‘abren’ son cobardes” (The ideal of manliness consists in never “cracking open.” Those who “open up” are cowards). He explains rajarse as “permitir que el mundo exterior penetre en su intimidad” (to let the outside world into one’s intimacy).
Outside the Office
In September 2018, Raciel Sosa wrote in Forbes México about silence in companies. “A menudo los colaboradores de una empresa no transmiten lo que piensan” (Often the employees of a company do not pass on what they think). Instead, he observed, “los empleados de una organización hablan de lo que les inquieta y preocupa, fuera de la oficina” (the employees of an organization talk about what troubles and worries them outside the office).
Most People
In 2022, the polling firm Ipsos asked adults in 30 countries whether most people can be trusted. In Mexico, 23 percent said yes.
INEGI’s National Survey of Civic Culture of 2020 measured trust on a scale from zero to ten, “como en la escuela” (as in school). It asked about three groups separately: “la mayoría de las personas” (most people), “la mayoría de las personas que conoce personalmente” (most of the people one knows personally) and the people who live in one’s neighborhood.
The Vocabulary of Trust
Confianza means trust. It also means familiarity between people.
De confianza, a person one can rely on, or a close and intimate one.
En confianza, in private, between people who trust each other.
Agarrar confianza, to grow at ease with someone over time.
Pásale, con confianza, “come in, make yourself at home,” said to a guest.
Tomarse confianzas, to take liberties, to act with more familiarity than the relationship allows.