Mexico, Processes, Trusted Relationships

The Vocabulary of Godparents and Friends

El que tiene padrinos se bautiza, “the one who has godparents gets baptized.” Sin padrino, no hay bautizo, “without a godfather, there is no baptism.” Herón Pérez Martínez of El Colegio de Michoacán records both in his studies of the Mexican refranero, the body of popular sayings. He calls the padrino “pariente social muy apreciado en la cultura popular mexicana” (a social relative highly valued in Mexican popular culture).

Cuatismo, from cuate, friend, is the tendency to favor friends, above all at work, according to the Diccionario del español de México of El Colegio de México. A recomendado is a person who comes with a recommendation. The dictionary’s example reads: “Son recomendados del ministro o parientes del subsecretario o amigotes del presidente” (They are people recommended by the minister, or relatives of the undersecretary, or cronies of the president).

Through Friends and Relatives

In August 2019, Mexico’s Labor Secretary, Luisa María Alcalde Luján, spoke at the ExpoEmpleo OCC job fair. According to Excélsior, she said that 56 percent of employed people in Mexico had found their job through personal contacts, friends or relatives. Only 25 percent of job seekers used private agencies or job boards.

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.

The Lever

In Mexico, a person who tiene palanca, “has a lever,” has a connection who can open a door. In a 2021 article, the researchers Arellano-Gault and Trejo Alonso describe the palanca as a mechanism for exchanging favors among acquaintances and “acquaintances of acquaintances.” It forms a network “that rests on relationships of trust.”

One participant in their focus groups said: “En México, la vida se compone de una serie de palancas” (In Mexico, life is made up of a series of levers).