Without opening too big a can of worms, I would highly recommend reading every word of this morning’s LA Times article about Americans working remotely in Mexico City, and the growing backlash from locals about what is being described as a new colonialism.
Not everyone is going to draw the same conclusions that I did after reading it, but I’m hoping it will at least force some introspection about the repercussions—many of which are unintended—of the modern amenities we enjoy here in America.
What caught my attention was the fascination with how “cheap” Mexico City is by American tourists and expats. As one respondent states in the article: “I’ve met a number of people who don’t really care that they’re in Mexico, they just care that it’s cheap.” Yet, as one local resident reminded readers: “Americans can come here, and they can afford everything and live like kings and queens, but Mexico is not cheap for Mexicans.”
My mind is harkening back to the early days of the initial Bourbon boom, when thousands of Scotch whisky fans, used to paying $60 - $100 for a great bottle of single malt, realized they could get 12 year old Bourbons of an amazing quality for $20 - $25. “Wow, this is so cheap!” they would invariably exclaim. There were so many guys who ended up buying cases of Elijah Craig 12 and Weller 12 because it was “cheap,” more than they could ever actually drink.
We all know how that ended up.
There are numerous parallels to the current whiskey market hidden within this article, including the resentment being directed towards those who are unaware of the impact they’re having on the local community. On the other hand, there’s the economic boom to consider, as numerous businesses are thriving due to the new-found tourism. It’s a pickle.
What I found most interesting, however, was the anger being directed towards Americans over their “indifference as to how their actions are affecting locals.” Imagine walking into your favorite local liquor store to get a bottle of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof for $69.99 and finding out that a group of guys who live hundreds of miles away, and have never once set foot in that establishment, communicated via social media and bought every last bottle remotely before you could get one.
When groups of collectors shop around from store to store, purchasing only the valuable bottles and ignoring the everyday stuff, it fosters a similar resentment from local customers, the repercussion of which is apparent in today’s market in the form of bundles, allocations, and other measures that attempt to preserve those bottles for regular customers.
Consumers who are indifferent to the communities they’re impacting, and are simply looking for the cheapest, best option create a ripple effect that affects everyone else, often negatively. Believe me, the backlash is coming.
-David Driscoll