Peruvian Society
(An Ocasional Series)
These articles are not written from a superior attitude which despises Peruvian society. If they are critical, it is the criticism of someone who is trying to understand and then to explain, what he has observed as a foreigner living in Peru. As such, they are a humble attempt to explain matters to outsiders from the point of view of an outsider who has had the privilege of “insider” knowledge.
They are not the product of profound reading, but of simple observation, and are personal reflections from an Evangelical perspective and with application to evangelicalism in Peru. All that is said in them should be seen in this light.
Getting and Keeping a Job
Like many other places in the world, getting a job in Peru often boils down not to what you know, but to who you know. Relatives are one source of getting into work. Another way is through the system of padrinos. The translation often given for “padrino” is “Godfather” (not necessarily in the Mafia sense). But padrinos are acquired at a child’s baptism, a girl’s fifteenth birthday party, a graduation, and weddings (instead of a best man). Usually parents will look for an influential padrino for their children so that they can help them through life. The padrinos at a wedding are life-long marriage counselors, for example. Ahijados have responsibilities to their padrinos, but padrinos not only help out with crises in a marriage but also look out for their ahijados in every aspect of life, including providing openings in the job market.
Another way to get a job, at least in the public sector, is by political affiliation. This is precarious at times as when your particular party is out of power then you are out of a job. This results in full-scale exploitation of the position whilst one is there as in a few years time one may not be. Many people in Peru have membership cards for several political parties so that they can take advantage of various options.
Once one is in a job then your authority obviously increases the higher up you are, or even the higher up your padrino o relative is. Qualifications are becoming increasingly important, but even with a degree; it is not what you know but who you know which counts.
However once one is in a position of authority it is normal to abuse this, especially with people below you. So job applicants can be asked to pay so much if they want a particular post. This may be a lump sum or even several months’ wages promised in advance. In the case of women, sexual favours are quite commonly expected as an entrance requirement.
Once a person is in a job he or she is still not clear of problems. Those higher up the ladder often expect those lower down to do them favours, which they see as their right. So people will run errands for their bosses during or even outside working hours. They may also look after the boss’s children as a matter of course.
The boss may not be very competent, but this is not important. The important thing is to make others below you look incompetent. This may lead to inefficiency, but again, that is not an issue.- the issue is, does the boss look good? The answer to that is, surprisingly, “yes”. The reasoning is simple: no one can do the job properly unless the boss is directly supervising.
So a boss will deliberately withhold vital information (telephone numbers, keys of a safe, computer passwords, or reports) o even delay a signature. This gives him or her a sense of power: “no one can do anything unless I allow them to do it”. So a boss will go off on holiday leaving everything in order but withholding vital information which means that work cannot be done. When he returns he is a heroe. Everyone is incompetent, or stupid, or lazy, or all three, but fortunately he has returned to save the day. The office cannot possibly run without him, but fear not! Wonderwoman, or Superman is here to put things in order.
Keeping people waiting for a signature is a sure way of letting underlings, or the general public, know who is in charge. Another trick is to tell someone they need certain forms, or photos or whatever in order to apply for what they want, and then when they arrive having gathered the necessary documentation, to tell them that of course they should also have brought another document. This can go on several times before all the right papers are in place and even then all is not well. People can queue for over an hour only to arrive at the window to be told that the office has closed for lunch. This may mean that a person has to return several hours later as siestas are long here. It may even mean coming back the next day as there is no attention to the public in the afternoons.
The final signature is delayed because the boss is “in a meeting”, or even more blatantly, he is off today as it is his birthday. When told the boss is not in today, my wife often asks, “why? Is it the cat’s birthday?” Instead of being indignant, the underling will often give a furtive smile. A sense of humour is a great help. You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it helps!
