A Few Shocks Away from Poverty
English + Español
Growing up in Lima Peru, I can remember people saying, “There is no middle class.” This was an exaggeration. Not all the non-poor were rich—far from it—but the differences in the living …
Category: Middle Class: Identity and Challenges
The Brazilian Middle Class and Its Illusory Search for an Elite Identity
English + Português
But there are plenty more we could consider elite. They are generally white, male, owners of manufacturing assets, large corporations and rent-seekers. We consider elites to be…
What is The Middle Class in Mexico?
English + Español
“El Santuario”—the sanctuary—is an exclusive residential gated community in the town of San Pedro Garza García in northern Mexico. Tucked into the hills, the neighborhood is home to mansions worth…
COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE MIDDLE CLASS IN MEXICO
English + Español
I’m from the state of Puebla, a medium-sized city in central Mexico. Over the past two years, I’ve observed as at least one out of every ten local residents has fallen from the middle class into poverty…
Firefly Dynamics
As the mestizo grandson of Bolivian Indigenous farmers and Scottish aristocratic landowners, I’ve long been fascinated by social mixing and mobility. Growing up in the…
Studying the Middle Class in Lima as the Wall Fell in Berlin
English + Español
Any academic who reaches a certain age can attest to having lived through at least one or two revolutions within their disciplines. Work can be divided into a before and an after, signalled…
A Perfect Labyrinth? The Last Half Century in Argentina
English + Español
I remember reading in high school the play by Florencio Sánchez, “M’hijo, el dotor” [My son, the doctor], the story of a peasant’s son who studies at the university and becomes…
Concentration of Wealth in Latin America in Times of Covid-19
English + Español
The number of super-wealthy—those with a fortune of US$1,000 million or more, as reported…
