One of the most prominent elements in Mexican culture is subsumed in the word simpatico (seem-PAH-tee-coh)—a term that most English-speaking people who are somewhat familiar with the Spanish language assume means “being sympathetic,” and let it go at that.

   But in its Mexican context being simpatico means a lot more than just intellectual understanding and extending verbal sympathy. That definition, in fact, hardly touches on the real cultural nuances of the term.

   In Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do! my explanation is that the term goes way beyond the English connotation of the word; that it infers that a simpatico person is also loyal, trustworthy and supportive, and can be counted on in times of trouble to do everything possible to help family and friends…and there is more.

   A simpatico person is also one who understands your situation and agrees with your viewpoint—a concept that Americans and other English-speaking people do not necessarily relate to being sympathetic.

   We often take the position that we are sympathetic about a problem, but in many cases our reaction is it’s your problem, not ours, and you are on your own. That is not the Mexican way, and for this reason Mexicans feel that Americans are not as humane, not as generous, as we like to think we are.

   To qualify for being described as simpatico in Mexican terms you have to be willing to go all the way in catering to and taking responsibility for the feelings and welfare of family members, close friends, co-workers and employees.

     This cultural factor is just as important in business and political relationships as it is on a personal family level, and can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful relationships.

     Facts, logic and other elements such as rapid progress and profits that are generally at the forefront of the Roman-Greek-Anglo way of thinking and doing things come second or third in the Mexican mindset.

     The role and importance of the simpatico element in Mexican culture was an outgrowth of the extreme social, political and economic discrimination experienced by Indians and Spanish-Indian mixed-bloods from the latter part of the 1600s until well into the 20th century.

     Writer Harriet Murray says that before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1620 some Mexican Indians believed that there was an organ near the heart that became known in Spanish as El Grande Simpatico, or “The Great Sympathetic Thing,” that was the site of the soul, controlled the flow of the life force through the body, and became unbalanced when ignored or misused, eventually “dying” if such behavior continued.

     This belief helped sustain the Indians who survived the arrival and aftermath of the Spanish, and as the population of mixed-bloods spiraled upward and their situation deteriorated they also began emphasizing goodwill and cooperation among their own kind as a defense against the ill-will and discriminatory policies imposed on them by those in power.

     This defense mechanism gradually became subsumed in the single word simpatico, and took on a life of its own in the culture of the mixed-bloods—and as their numbers grew over the generations and they became more prominent in Mexican society the simpatico concept and practice gradually seeped upward into the ruling class as well. 

     The simpatico factor remains one of the most conspicuous and attractive elements in present-day Mexican culture. It is one of the first things that foreigners become aware of in their dealings with Mexicans—and is also one of the primary reasons why so many foreigners who spend any time in the country end up becoming permanent residents.

     As writer Murray points out, in Mexico you don’t have to feel guilty about not working all of the time, about not accomplishing anything of consequence every day, adding that this emotional and spiritual quality of life is also one of the things that draws Mexicans back to their homeland after they have spent time abroad—especially in the U.S., where this view of life is virtually non-existent.

     Americans in particular who go to Mexico on business will find that the quality of their lives and their success in business will be greatly enhanced if they adopt the simpatico way of the country.

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For a detailed review of the character and personality of Mexicans, see Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do!

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

Just as there is Mexican time in the culture of Mexico and American time in American culture, there is also Mexican truth and real truth. And again, this element in Mexican culture is a product of the convoluted history of the country.

     From the beginning of the Spanish colonial period in Mexico in 1521 until the end of the Mexican Revolution in 1921 people who were not of pure Spanish ancestry and especially the native Indians, were subject to the will and the whims of medieval church dogma and doctrine, political leaders who were absolute dictators, a ruthless military, a corrupt police force and a cadre of local bosses who were typically despotic in their treatment of workers.

     In this environment, the mixtures and Indians created their own version of  la verdad (lah vahr-DAD), or the truth, making it whatever would help protect them from the arbitrary and often brutal dictates of the people who ruled the country for their own personal benefit…and for the first 300 years for the benefit of Spain.

     For their own part, the ruling elite and their lackeys on whatever level were themselves under no legal or spiritual restraints to be truthful, even among themselves, and thus the whole culture operated under false pretenses, with reality obscured by masks of piety and gaiety.

     When Mexican gained its freedom from Spain in 1821 after a long and bloody war, the country was ruled by a succession of dictators until 1921, following an even bloodier revolution that lasted for ten years.

     In the 1920s, for the first time in the history of the country, laws were passed protecting some of the rights of common people. But still today ordinary Mexicans will tell you that the laws of the country that are supposed to protect them are like rubber—always subject to being stretched by those charged with enforcing them.

     And some Mexicans still today will automatically respond with the partial truth or no truth at all even when there is no immediate threat to them on the basis that there could be some kind of threat in the future. But better education and more real personal freedom are slowly changing this built-in behavior.

     For foreigners doing business with Mexicans the way to avoid having to deal with part-truth or no truth is to develop a solid relationship of respect and trust with the individuals concerned.

     Mexicans have powerful historical reasons for disliking and distrusting the United States in particular and Americans in general. In 1845 Americans seized the Mexican province of Texas. Following the U.S.-Mexican war of 1846-1848 the U.S. annexed approximately half of the remaining territory of Mexico.

     In the last decades of the 1800s and early decades of the 1900s American business barons, in cahoots with General Porfirio Diaz who ruled the country from 1876 to 1911, owned and or controlled over half of the economy of Mexico, and made little or no effort to end the economic and social bondage of the farming and laboring classes of Mexicans.

     Nowadays, well over half of the wealth and economy of Mexico remains in the hands of about fifteen families.

     Despite this sorry record, most ordinary Mexicans are naturally friendly, hospitable and generous toward Americans and other foreigners, and when they are met with honesty and goodwill they respond in kind.  Most foreigners who spend any time in Mexico find the humanistic view and way of life so seductive and satisfying they fall in love with it.

     Those who stay on and do well in Mexico are those who come to understand la verdad in the context of Mexican culture and become adept at living with and using it.

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For a detailed review of the character and personality of Mexicans, see Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do!

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

 In my book, There’s a Word for it in Mexico, I note that one of the first things foreigners in Mexico—whether businesspeople or tourists—should know about Mexicans is that their behavior, both private and official, is generally controlled by their code of personalismo (pehr-so-nah-LEES-moh), which results in them personalizing everything.

     Broadly speaking, personalismo embodies the Mexican belief that personal dignity and self-interest take precedence over all other considerations, including the ethical and moral. And as always in the character and personality of Mexicans, this cultural trait originated during the three hundred year reign of Spanish overlords.

     During that long colonial period the principle of personalismo eventually came to override virtually everything else in the lives on non-Spanish Mexicans because they were not fully protected by any cultural concept of human rights or by any laws designed to guarantee such rights.

     When the Spanish period ended in 1821 it became common for presidents, officials, generals, business tycoons and other people in positions of power to surround themselves with their kin, friends and close followers and to use their power to enrich themselves and their followers.

     Despite fundamental improvements in the legal and justice systems in Mexico since the 1910-1921 Revolution these self-serving practices remain deeply embedded in the culture and continue to have a negative influence on the politics and the economy of the country.

     Another thing that foreigners in Mexico must keep in mind and understand is that Mexican law is based on the Napoleonic Code, not English jurisprudence, which means in effect that people apprehended by the law for any reason, justified or not, are presumed guilty until proven innocent, and are generally treated as such.

Because of this system it became common for people who had been arrested to buy their way out of the clutches of the police, whether they were innocent or guilty. The overall situation in Mexico has improved considerably but arbitrary arrest, illegal detention—and torture—still occurs.

     Fair play and justice have long been recognized in Mexico, but still today they remain arbitrary and subject to the interpretation of individual policemen, military officers and special security forces.

     Foreign businesspeople in Mexico are advised to keep the personalismo factor in mind at all times and to make friends with people in high places not only to help guide them in the subtle intricacies of staying on good terms with people but also to come to their rescue if they have an encounter with any of the several law or security forces in Mexico that have or assume the privilege of arresting and holding people.

_____________________________________

For a detailed review of the character and personality of Mexicans, see Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do!

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

______________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

  The higher the social level of Mexicans the more courteous they tend to be—but even the poorest Mexicans typically behave in an exceptionally courteous manner when in their normal environment, especially when compared to Americans.

     The exceptional cortesia (cohr-tay-SEE-ah), or courtesy, of Mexicans had some of its roots in the rituals of the Catholic Church brought to Mexico from the 1500s on, but more so in the manners and customs of the early Spanish overlords who generally based their own etiquette on that of the Royal Court of Spain.

     Another key element in the importance of courtesy in Mexican culture was its relationship with dignidad [deeg-nee-DAHD] or dignity, which had also become one of the most important elements in the character and personality of Mexicans during the Spanish regime..

     Treated as virtual lepers from around 1600 until well into the 1900s, Mexico’s racial mixtures, both men and women, created a virtual reality for themselves that was based on a high level of dignity and courtesy—two of the elements of Spanish culture they were free to emulate.

     But long before the arrival of the conquistadors who conquered Mexico, the Aztecs and other Indians of Mexico had developed even more dignified and stylized societies than the Europeans, with sophisticated manners that were both prescribed and enforced.

     These elements, again combined with the fact that for more than 400 years common Mexicans were forced to create a virtual reality for themselves, resulted in courtesy becoming a primary trait in the character of racially mixed Mexicans.

     Modern-day younger Mexicans, fed a diet of American and Mexican pop culture, are losing some of the legacy of cortesia, but among the general population it is still significant enough that it remains a distinguishing characteristic of Mexicans and adds a special charm to life in the country.

     Personal dignidad also remains one of the most important cultural factors in the lives of Mexicans, and men in particular often go to extraordinary lengths to protect their “face”—their image of themselves as men.

     Young women who reject the advances of men must be extraordinarily careful not to trigger the male sense of being shamed—of having their manhood ignored or denied. Young men who slight the self-image of other men often put themselves in even more danger.

     It is therefore important for foreigners visiting Mexico and dealing with Mexicans abroad to be aware of this special sensitivity and take pains not to insult the dignidad of Mexicans by behaving in what Mexicans consider an uncultured, rude manner.

     This is not to say or imply that foreigners should act in an obsequious manner toward Mexican men [and women!] but it is very important to treat them with a higher level of courtesy than is characteristic of American behavior.

     Such courtesy can and often does mean the difference between success and failure in Mexico. And the experience of many foreign old-timers in Mexico clearly demonstrates that it is just as important to be courteous to the lowest level of employees or individuals in general as it is to the socially and economically elite.

     The Mexican saying, Como Mexico no hay dos! [coh-moh MEH-he-coh no aye dohss!], “There is no other country like Mexico!” is true—and should not be forgotten.

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For a detailed review of the character and personality of Mexicans, see Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do!

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

______________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

 Americans who attempt to engage in business or make political deals with Mexicans are invariably confronted by a cultural barrier that must be overcome before they can succeed.

     One of the fundamental truths of any society is that without a benign, humane, just, and efficient system of government the attitudes and behavior of the people in that country will be determined by their desire to survive rather than by religious beliefs or laws.

     Mexico is a good example of a country that has been plagued by cultural weaknesses and failures resulting from anti-human policies and practices since it was forged in a cauldron of violence and bloodshed in the early 16th century—a heritage that continues to define and control the national character of the people in many ways.

     The attempts to merge Moorish, Spanish and native Indian cultures is still incomplete, and continues to have a negative impact on the country.  One of the primary cultural factors that evolved from this attempt is the ongoing role and importance of emotion in the lives of Mexicans.

     This emotional factor has, in fact, been responsible for much of the inequalities and violence that have been endemic in Mexico since the arrival of the conquistadors in 1619. But it also gave birth to an aspect of Mexican culture that is aesthetically, spiritually and intellectually pleasing.

     While the emotional factor is one of the most positive elements in Mexico’s multi-faceted culture, is also the source of many of the negative elements that continue to plague the country, including the Mexican version of moralidad [mo-rah-lee-dahd] or morality.

     In essence, Mexican morality is circumstantial. It is not and never has been a black-and-white proposition despite the powerful image and influence of the Catholic Church. It has, in fact, always been situational, depending on the circumstances of the time and place.

   The reason for this is because from its inception in the early 1520s until recent times Mexico had no laws—religious or secular—that protected the rights of ordinary people. Both the Church and all levels of government were predatory, using the people, taking from them, and often abusing them in terrible ways.

   Because the people had no system of security they could depend upon they had to react to each situation that arose on the basis of what would be least likely to bring harm to them, and most likely to help them. They were forced to become experts at creating morality on the spot.

   The heritage of this long history of abuse has not fully disappeared from Mexico and continues to give business and social relations a unique Mexican color and tone. But, that is not to say there are no people in Mexico who behave in a truly moral manner. There are—especially in the poor classes and among women.

   And as in virtually all societies, the women of Mexico are more rational and moral than the men because they must deal with the realities of life on a daily basis, while many of the men, especially the younger ones, tend to live in a virtual reality that they themselves create out of the legacy of their convoluted history.

     Americans in particular tend to find Mexican moralidad a barrier until they have been immersed in the culture for several years and learn how to flow with it. And this learning process begins and ends with understanding and accepting the fact that Mexican behavior is very personal, very emotional, and these needs must be met before solid, productive relationships can be forged.

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For a detailed review of the character and personality of Mexicans, see Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do!

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

______________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

Americans and others have long had distorted views of Mexico, including a romantic-roughish image that was portrayed by Hollywood and was in fact based on facts [carefully selected and massaged], along with an image of Mexican bandits and revolutionaries swathed in gun-belts that was also true in its time and place.

     The cultural elements that were responsible for the creation of these images still exist in only slightly altered form, and without specific knowledge of the existence and role of these factors in present-day Mexican society foreigners interacting with Mexicans for business, political and personal reasons are at a disadvantage.

    One of the most important of the cultural elements in the make-up of Mexicans—the romantic as well as the rogue aspects—is the importance of dignidad (deeg-nee-DAHD), or dignity, in Mexican life.

     During the Spanish reign in Mexico [from 1521 to 1820] the Indians and rapidly growing number of Mestizos (Spanish-Indian mixed-bloods) had few if any rights of full citizenship and few choices in how they behaved.

     One choice they gradually assumed by osmosis, however, was copying some of the behavior of their Spanish overlords, particularly their exaggerated sense of self-image. Mestizo men in particular began compensating for their slave-like social and political status and their abject poverty by developed an extreme sense of pride and dignity.

     For many generations this sense of exaggerated pride and dignity resulted in Mexico being one of the most violent societies on the planet. Most men carried guns and used them at the slightest hint of an insult or aggression. It was not until well into the 20th century that the majority of Mexican men stopped carrying weapons at all times.

     Personal dignidad is still one of the most important cultural factors in the lives of Mexicans, and men in particular often go to extraordinary lengths to protect their “face”—their image of themselves as masculine men.

     It is therefore important for foreigners visiting Mexico and dealing with Mexicans abroad to be aware of this special sensitivity and take pains not to insult their typically strong sense of dignidad.

     Middle-class Anglo-Americans, who are generally the least dignified and mannered people on the scene, especially when they are abroad, should make a point of being less boisterous and less informal, and more reserved in their speech and behavior when in Mexico.

     One of the things that Mexicans, Asians and many Europeans find so disconcerting about Americans is that our behavior is so unstructured they cannot predict what we are going to say or do…and that creates a sense of ill-ease.

     Mexicans love a good time and they can be as unrestrained in their behavior as anyone, but in Mexico there is a time and place for such behavior, and the separation of decorum and rambunctiousness is generally strict.

     Businesspeople and others dealing with Mexicans in Mexico and abroad will find their relationships much more positive if they exercise a noticeable degree of decorum in their own behavior.

     It is important to keep in mind that in broad terms, the foundation of Mexican behavior in all of their relationships—business, political and social—is emotional and personal…a circumstance that is often diametrically opposed to the American way of thinking and doing things. 

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For a detailed review of the character and personality of Mexicans, see Why Mexicans Think and Behave the Way They Do!

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

______________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

One of the cultural factors that must be taken into consideration when doing business in Mexico is the built-in tendency of most Mexicans to avoid taking personal responsibility for their behavior in personal affairs, in their work, or in other matters. And the reason for this is, of course, historical.

     For most of the 300-year reign of Spain in Mexico [1521-1821] the Spanish overlords treated the native Indian populations as if they were incapable of sophisticated reasoning and unable to take responsibility for their actions. 

     Their treatment of the growing number of Indian-Spanish mixed-bloods [Mestizos] was to eventually follow the same pattern. The number of mix-bloods in Mexico ballooned exponentially after the Spanish conquered the country because it was policy of the conquerors and later Spanish administrators and soldiers to impregnate as many Indian women as possible.

     In the beginning the rational for this program of miscegenation was to create as many non-Indian people as possible because Indians were not liked or trusted, and it was presumed that a growing population of mixed-bloods would benefit both Mexico and Spain.

      However, with the passing of the conquistadors who had conquered Mexico, and who had taken the lead in implementing the miscegenation policy, the social status of the Indian-Spanish mixtures rapidly degenerated to the point that they became even more disliked and distrusted than the Indians.

     As time passed, this generations-long policy of denying Indians and racial mixtures the opportunity to get positions of responsibility [other than hereditary positions among the Indian tribes] left the bulk of Mexico’s population with no experienced in handling responsibility and little if any incentive to do so.

     It became natural for workmen to wait for precise orders from their bosses before doing anything—and often when something went wrong they would remain silent, waiting for the boss to discover the problem and give them new orders. The concept of personal responsibilidad (ray-spon-sah-bee-lee-dahd) was simply not a part of their mindset.

     Freedom from Spain in 1821 did not significantly change the culture that the Spaniards had forged. Most Mestizos and Indians were to remain poverty-stricken and powerless for 100-plus more years, and subject to a degree of official discrimination that prevented them from getting into positions of responsibility.

     The exceptions to this were the Mestizos who left the urban areas of central Mexico in the early 1800s for the mostly unoccupied northern territories where they were free to take the initiative in improving their lives. Some of them became successful ranchers and businesspeople. Others became bandits.

     Still today managers in Mexico must deal with the reluctance of many workers to take personal responsibility for their actions, even though this cultural factor is changing with better education and the spread of American influence in the country.

     As with arriving at la verdad, or the truth, in Mexico, creating an environment in which individual Mexicans take responsibility for their actions it is a matter of developing personal relationships based on trust and respect.

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

 When the Spanish conquistadors took over Mexico in 1521 the “laws” they themselves followed and began attempting to impose on the large native Indian population were a mishmash of Catholic dogma and Islamic customs.

Following the successful Mexican rebellion against Spain three hundred years later [1810-1821] the new Mexican government instituted a variety of reforms in the legal system that were to be on the books until the early 1860s, but generally were not enforced.

In 1862 French forces, along with British and Spanish contingents, invaded and captured Mexico, ostensibly  because the government of the newly elected president, Benito Juarez [a Zatopec Indian], refused to continue paying onerous debts to these countries.

With the French in power in Mexico, Napoleon III appointed Maximilian [a member of royal family of Hapsburg] as the emperor of Mexico. His regime made the Napoleonic Code [promulgated by the original Napoleon in 1804] the law of the land.

However, Maximilian himself didn’t last long. Mexican nationalists [with help from the U.S.] defeated the French forces and their allies in 1867, the Mexican government was restored, and Emperor Maximilian was executed by a firing squad.

But the Napoleonic Code remained the foundation of the legal system, and despite a series of reforms following the Mexican revolution against home-grown dictatorships [1910-1921] and other reforms during the rest of the century, the ancient French Code remains the foundation of Mexico’s legal system today.

However, culture generally continues to play a greater role in present-day Mexico than the legal system, and this means that many of the attitudes and customs that developed in Mexico during the Spanish era as well as that of the following dictatorships take precedence in Mexican attitudes and behavior.

Fair play and justice have, of course, long been recognized in Mexico, but still today they remain arbitrary and subject to the interpretation of individual policemen, military officers and special security forces. Self-serving practices that ignore the law remain deeply embedded in the culture and continue to have a negative influence on the politics and the economy of the country.

Foreigners in Mexico should keep in mind that under Mexican law people apprehended by law enforcement agents for any reason, justified or not, are presumed guilty until proven innocent, and are generally treated as such.

Because of this system it became common long ago for people who had been arrested to buy their way out of the clutches of the police if they could afford it, whether they were innocent or guilty. The overall situation in Mexico has improved considerably but arbitrary arrest, illegal detention—and torture—still occurs.

Foreign businesspeople in Mexico are advised to keep these factors in mind at all times and to make friends with people who can help guide them in the subtle intricacies of staying on good terms with everyone as well as to come to their rescue If they have an encounter with any of the several law or security forces in Mexico that have or assume the privilege of arresting and holding people.

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

______________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.

 Personal etiquette in Mexico tends to be more formal and more important, on every level of society, than in the United States—a factor that can upset Mexicans who are not familiar with the free-wheeling ways of most Americans, or regard it as a cultural failing if not an indication of disrespect for Mexican culture.

     The higher one goes on the social ladder in Mexico the more formal and the more institutionalized the behavior one encounters.  Some business and personal customs in Mexico are also different from those that are common in the U.S.

     Here are a few of the traditional aspects of behavior in Mexico that have generally survived into modern times, particularly among those on the upper rungs of society:

     In purely social settings, adult women who are friends usually greet each other with a kiss each on the cheek—or make the motion of kissing. The formal greeting for male friends is an abrazo [hug] combined with two or three pats on the back.  In business settings both men and women shake hands.

     In Mexico lunch is the most important meal of the day. It usually begins at 2 p.m. [or later], and generally lasts for around two hours.  Many people who live within easy commuting distance go home for lunch. Lunches at restaurants typically include alcoholic drinks, leaving diners flushed and tipsy. The work day normally ends around 8 p.m.  The dinner hour generally starts around 10 p.m. or later.

     Business meetings combined with breakfast and lunch are as common in Mexico as they are in the U.S. and many other countries.  At these meetings, business matters are not discussed until near the end of the meal. Earlier conversations are generally devoted to talking about personal matters, particularly family affairs and sports. For newcomers to Mexico this is a time for getting acquainted and bonding.

     It is customary for foreigners going to Mexico on business to take small gifts for the people they are scheduled to meet— particularly those who come to the airport to pick them up but for others as well. You can get special mileage by taking gifts for the children of contacts you are to meet.  Business gifts are also a part of the protocol in Mexico, and during the Christmas season they can be lavish.

     Tipping baggage carriers, taxi drivers, bellhops, waiters and others in personal service industries has long been common in Mexico because salaries in these areas have traditionally been low by any standard.  For service in places that present bills, tips usually range from 10 to 20 percent of the bills. When there is no bill, such as in the case of baggage handlers, bellhops, barbers, parking lot attendants and gas station attendants, the amount of the tip is arbitrary…and depends more on the affluence and generosity of the tipper.

     In dining and drinking situations where there are two or three people, or sometimes more, it is common for the senior person to pay the bill. Or if a group meets often, and the members of the group are in or close to the same age and income level, they often take turns paying.

     As a rule, it is customary for Mexicans to treat foreign visitors as their guests and to insist on paying dining and drinking bills—making sure they get their hands on the bills first; or they leave the table before the party ends and pay the bill discreetly. In such cases, the foreign visitor should make sure he or she returns the hospitality at the next opportunity.

     Mexicans have traditionally been more clothes-conscious than Americans because one’s dress was closely associated with social class. The social implications of dress are less direct now, but most adult Mexicans are still more formal in both their casual and business attire than typical Americans.

     Wearing shorts and sandals, for example, is generally a dead giveaway that one is a foreigner. In classier restaurants and clubs casual clothing is usually taboo.

Mexicans are especially sensitive about rank and professional titles, and the custom of using appropriate titles should be followed by foreign businesspeople until they have established good personal relations with their individual contacts. It is therefore important for newcomers to Mexico to inquire about the titles of the people they are scheduled or want to meet.

     In social situations Mexicans are more laid back in their view and use of time. It is a deeply established custom to arrive at such meetings anywhere from half an hour to an hour later than the pre-set time.

     Visitors to Mexico for whatever purpose who go shopping should keep in mind that bargaining is customary in open-air markets. The custom is to start out offering half of the listed price, and go up from there.

Copyright © 2009 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is the author of more than 50 books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico. For a list and synopses of his books go to: www.boyedemente.com. Photo by Scott Holland.