Gentrification and guilt

 There are now all kinds of youtube channels about ex-pats living in Ecuador.  Many of them touch on two sides of a coin - "getting Gringo'd" (aka getting charged more than a local, the writer presumes because they are white) in which local vendors are blamed from inflating prices and "gentricifaction" in which ex-pats are blamed for the inflation of prices, because they pay them.  This usually involves some guilt shaming that by our existance, and not fighting over prices we are causing Ecuadorians to not be able to afford their own housing, and we need to stop.  People are shamed for not bartering more, not understanding the local market prices for all items and services, and for tipping to US standards, the latter of which is seen as "showing off".

Having ex-pats in the community is a double edged sword.  We bring much needed money to businesses, but just like in the US, when wealthier people with a real estate edge (the profits from your sold property in your geographical area of origin buys much nicer property in where ever you are relocating to) flock to a specific area, prices can and do go up.  From a Manta specific perspecitive, this mostly involves property right on the beach, where the vast majority of ex-pats congregate.  Right now, there is plenty to go around for buyers (not so much for renters) but that surely could change.

So I am not saying there is not some validity to the stated problem, but I do take issue with the shame based solution.  One thing I have definetely learned in over 3 decades in health care is that shaming people tends to either make them defensive, or evasive, and neither is effective in inducing actual change.  For that you are going to need to start with some very realistic barriers.

1) Language barrier:  Right now, after a total of about 5 months in Ecuador, I can speak enough Spanish to interact with a vendor on a limited basis.  I can express what I want to buy, how many, and ask the price.  If they keep their answers short, sweet, and on point, I can often understand what they are saying.  What I do not yet have the skills to do are engage in an extended conversation in bargaining.  They may be trying to explain to me what the price is now X when last month it is Y, or ask me questions about accepting a possible alternative, etc.  Since I can't anticipate how they are going to respond, it is a lot harder to try to translate.  People in real life do not follow the Duolingo script.  And many ex-pats are older, have a harder time learning, and know less Spanish than I do.  So, no, we feel happy we knew enough Spanish to complete our purchase, and generally do not worry about getting overcharged, unless by a significant sum - in which case, we just don't purchase it.

2) Preferencial pricing for locals is not an Ecuadorian thing - it's just a thing.  Brian pointed out that in our neighborhood where we lived in Chicago as newlyweds, he never paid a cover charge at the bar.  But you can bet the tourists did!  Even Disney has lower prices for people who live in the area.  Businesses will frequently extend favorable pricing to frequent patrons.  Apparently, they will also charge more to people from out of the area - while I cannot tell if someone is from Quito (the Ecuadian capital) or another nearby country such as Columbia, for example, the locals can.  The difference is the others from out of the area do not have the same language barrier, and can push back, and from the other side have enough cultural intuition when to know NOT to push back.  Expats frequently have no clue if the shopkeeper knows the family ahead of us is on a very limited income, and is just giving them a break, or the man ahead of us buys his produce at this tienda every few days, and his continued business is being rewarded.  To just waltz in and potentially demand the same price plays into.......

3) The strong ingrained desire not to be rude, especially as we are essentially guests here.  Many (although regretably not all) ex-pats share this.  We don't know the local pricing customs and we don't want to potentially demand the same preferential treatment given to a loyal customer base, or impoverished senior.  So if the lady ahead of us is charged 80 cents for 3 mangos, and we are charged a $1.25, we are not going to throw any kind of tantrum, certainly not to a small business owner who likely has a narrow profit margin as it is.  I think as well it is pretty strongly engrained in most ex-pats not to protest at being charged a 20% mark up from someone who is likely having difficulty making ends meet, when most of us are comparatively better off.  At the end of the day, the dollar or two increase for us does not make a dent to us, but for the vendor may actually make a difference.  It's hard to see a vague possible long term big picture when you have a tangible and real small picture in front of you.  No matter how much you shame us, right or wrong, we're generally going to chose the vendor.  There is no arguement, no matter how well it's worded or how "right" it sounds to you that is going to change the behavior.   Not understanding that is preventing entertaining more potentially effective solutions.  Solutions that are going to take a lot more cooperation, effort and planning among many people, not just making a virtuous youtube video.

4)  Tipping.  Many Americans do come here and tip more by our own standards.  Some of this is simply ignorance.  For example, early in my stay here, our driver/friend Antonio took me to a Target like store to buy household items, and since we were starting from scratch, it was a large purchase with many packages.  I was asked how many men I would like to assist with the packages, as the driver, usually very helpful, uncharacteristicly held back a bit.  Mortified that I would be perceived as needing so many people serving me, I said one was plenty, at which point Antonio jumped back in and assisted.  I tried to discreetly pluck a couple of dollar coins from my purse, which I tipped the check out attendent with, less than I would give in the US, but hopefully not insulting.  "How much was I supposed to tip?" I asked Antonio, when we were driving back.  "Many Ecuadorians would not tip at all," he answered delicately, "but it is a very nice, helpful thing to do, and I would never say, no don't do it.  People that do tip may give 50 cents or up to a dollar."   "I gave 2 dollars," I whispered.  Antonio laughed "You probably made his day".  At this point I realized I should have gone ahead and asked for 2 people and tipped them both a dollar to "spread the wealth" so to speak.  In general, though, I notice that we tend to give more to those that serve us more, larger tips to our condo guards that help us every day, the loyal housekeeper, the bartender that knows your drink order and has it ready for you every time, etc.  There is also what I consider the language barrier tax, such as when someone that might normally be tipped has to spend extra time and effort with you and Google Translate to deliver the desired service.  I always give that person a little extra for their effort.  Also, we are all well aware the Ecuadorian government has allowed us residency in hopes of boosting up their economy a bit, I personally do feel the obligation to do this.  However, I fully acknowledge over the top tipping is not prudent for many reasons, the first and foremost being it is going to draw unwanted attention, not only to yourself but to the person you are tipping.  As a general rule, do NOT flash your money, it sets you up to be a crime victim.

5) Inflation is a thing.  One reason we don't protest more is that we are also noticing prices going up at places where there are actual price tags, like the mall, large commercial grocery store.  It stands to reason that a small business vendor's prices also go up as well.  Ecuador had been somewhat protected from inflation, but prices seemed to have finally gone up (while still less so than the rest of the world) in the last 5 months.

So essentially, these videos are trying to micromanage our transactions with small businesses by asking us to essentially ignore the humanity of the person in front of us in hopes we can stop gentrification, when economic fortune is already usually heavily in our favor.  It's not going to happen.  Let's think of what else we can do.

For ex-pats, in terms of small vendor transactions - I would argue it is not necessary to fight and over bargain every transaction, the simplest thing to do shop as many places as you can until you find out where the pricing is the most favorable, and buy there.  Walk away if you think you are being significantly overcharged.  Tell your friends where you notice the best prices (If you are relaying significant overcharging, do so DISCREETLY - do not publicly say anything negative about any business, that is not allowed here).  Eventually, if the vendor with the best prices is getting the most customers, this may help set the price.  Expats do now 'ask around' to try to determine how much something could cost, but individual experiences vary quite a bit.

When it comes to buying property - it is a little easier to compare.  There are many listings.  That being said, not all things are equal that appear on the surface (see my previous post).  Here is where it is easier to bargain - Americans are used to offering lower than the listed price for real estate, especially if a property has been on the market a while.  That being said, be realistic.  In my mind it is well worth it to pay a bit more for a fully functional genertor and a well managed building.

Many other interventions are going to need more of a government and community effort.  In other words,  Ecuadorians themselves are going to need to fight being overpriced out of their own community and we, the guests need to follow their lead.  For example:

1) encourage listed pricing for all vendors, and normalize vendor's rights to provide more favorable pricing for those with specific need, (such as a senior discount) or their loyal customer base.  This will help ensure a sense of fairness.

2) publish lists of typical pricing for such services such as an electrician, plumber, appliance repair, etc.  For example, if 2 plumbers come to your house on a day's notice, and charge $60 for 2 hours of work (for both of them), it is not going to occur to the average newish ex-pat they may be taken advantage of.  In publishing a list of expected pricing for a particular area, be sure to understand that speaking English is a skill, and it is OK to charge more for this.

3) real estate - this is a HUGE issue.  Lack of housing to meet a demand and subsequent rising prices that make it difficult or impossible for locals to buy in their own community is the end highly undesired result of gentrification.  In Manta we are not there yet, but we could be if there is not a decision at what point action will need to be taken, and what those actions might be.  Under the current system, I don't see gentrification going away, assuming Manta continues to be a desired ex-pat location.  The government itself would need to take action.  These actions would unfortunately going to curtail capitalism somewhat.  They may be worth it.  For example, they could make a rule that properties must be offered to native Ecuadorians FIRST, combined with a rule to curtail price inflation.  They could put a limit on the percentage of ex-pats allowed to own property in certain places where locals where there is limited availability.  They could put a cap on immigration numbers.  And since most ex-pats are purchasing property the average Ecuadorian could not afford, they could just go ahead and allow the expats to buy the property they want (if no Ecuadorian buyer comes forward) and charge a tax, which then could be used towards building more affordable housing with good infrastructure.  They could do some, all, or none of these, but think up their own dieas.   But if the system is going to rely on "Gringos" just choosing not to purchase property where they are legally allowed to do so, and sellers not maximizing their profits (by charging what they think they can get), it is just never going to happen, no matter how virtuous it may sound.

And at some point, acknowledge that having an ex-pat buyer is better for the economy than no buyer at all.  For reasons I cannot fatham, there were recently 2 beachfront units for sale in our building, which is a pretty nice one.  Although the units could be rented quite easily, there were no buyers for months.  Not sure why.  There are nicer condo for sale in terms of luxury, but in my opinion not in as favorable location.