-
Glossary
- University of Arizona Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Glossary ahorro (saving) Any form of saving activity ahorro para ahorrar (saving to save) The deuteron-learned construct inferred from these data. The construct expands regardless of intent and use as long as rewards of some sort are generated. The construct includes future planning, goal orientations of stability, delayed gratification, and an interest in future generations. amistad (friendship) One of the relationships of reciprocity important in maintaining dense “fixed” relations asesor (consultant-broker) An individual who serves interstitial functions at different levels within many Mexican institutional sectors. Sometimes a broker , sometimes a confidant, and with or without portfolio, the asesor is necessary to many economic and political transactions. The term has an essentially positive connotation. bolita (little ball) One of the terms used to designate a rotating credit association . The name is probably derived from the numbered balls in wire hoppers used in lotteries. cacique (political leader) The traditional view of caciquismo is that it is an informal political method of control by a small association of individuals under one leader (Friedrich 1965, 190). Violence, verbal persuasion, and the use of collateral relatives are the principal methods of political control. It is also considered a transitional urban phenomenon restricted to evolving low-income settlements (Cornelius 1973, 150). I find that such leadership is neither specific to low-income areas nor transitory (Vélez-Ibañez 1978a). caja de ahorros (a box of savings) Informal and formal credit unions, which are widely distributed throughout Mexico chingar (to screw) The emic descriptor for exploitation, marginality, powerlessness , or the cause of disrupted social relationships. It is equivalent to the English “fuck.” In its noun form, the word refers to a powerful individual. Some literature has used this emic descriptor to characterize Mexican personality , motivation, and relationships. compadrazgo (co-godparenthood) An important Mexican fictive relationship that is ceremonially sanctioned and provides the impetus for network expansion in various contexts. 214 Glossary confianza (mutual trust) The Mexican cultural construct indicating the willingness to engage in generalized reciprocity. It may be open, processual, or closed. confianza en confianza (trusting mutual trust) The deuteron-learned construct inferred from these data. The construct expands as long as reciprocity and exchange relations are maintained. The construct ultimately implies trust in the trustworthiness of self since mutual trust as an organizing intersect for social relations cannot be used without a sense of trust in the ability to cope with one’s organs. coyote (consultant-broker) An intermediary, but with a more negative connotation than asesor and carrying an implication that illegal or unethical activities are being negotiated cuates (pals) Two or more intimate male friends cuchuval (to raise a reunion) A Guatemalan variant of the rotating credit association , from the Quiche cundina (from the verb cundir, to spread) One of the terms used to designate a rotating credit association: the second most frequently used term by our informants . It is found primarily in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. cundinero A person who organizes rotating credit associations on a part-time or full-time basis ethnodrama A method of exposition of data couched within a reconstruction of events as similar to their unfolding as possible. Actors, roles, decisions, and cultural and structural constraints are emphasized. Such a technique is very much a part of situational urban analysis. fictive friendship An interpersonal relationship in which the idiom of describing the relationship is “friendship,” but in which the relationship is specific only to such contexts as clubs, institutions, and periodic events. Such friendships lack density, continuous reciprocity, and committed affect. Such relationships are more probable among urban peoples for whom mobility and flexibility are required as a consequence of complex wage structures. Academics, for example, because of the congruence between vertical and horizontal mobility, participate in such fictive friendship networks. Status changes, which are frequent among academics, require geographical movement in many instances. Fictive friendships serve a variety of social, affective, and professional needs, but are marked by their ease of transferability across institutions. See especially Moore (1978) for the seminal discussion of the term and the proper context for its use. first turn The first turn may be the reserve asked by a specialist in order to ensure the timely distribution of the fund share. The turn may also, however, be provided to the organizer as a favor in return for organizing the association, but in this case it is not free. [54.159.186.146] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 18:04...