Chairo (feminine ''chaira'') is a pejorative epithet that originated in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

to describe an individual who holds a

far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...

ideology, specifically any person who thoughtlessly defends, idolizes, and fawns over a populist politician and

demagogue A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, ...

with an attitude similar to that of a religious fanatic. Similar terms in other Spanish-speaking countries include ''perroflautas'' in Spain, ''zurdos'' in Argentina and ''comunachos'' in Chile.

Etymology

In the 1960s, a ''chairo'' or ''chaqueto'' was a

term Term may refer to: * Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in particular: ** Technical term, part of the specialized vocabulary of a particular field, specifically: *** Scientific terminology, terms used by scie ...

used to refer to an adolescent who was believed to

masturbate Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...

in excess and as a result was self-absorbed or distracted. The words have connection to '' chaqueta mental'', literally mental jerk-off. In her blog at '' El Universal'', prominent blogger

Tamara De Anda Tamara De Anda Prieto (born August 6, 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico), also known by her pen name ''Plaqueta'', is a Mexican blogger and journalist. She received international attention after an incident of harassment involving a taxi driver, and ...

relates how she and her friends first tried to popularize ''chairo'' in high school to describe " neo-hippie" students that would take up camp in the best part of the school's garden. She describes these students as beautiful and self-assured, that they wore fashionable clothes, went to raves and took acid and

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desired ...

. Although they came from nice homes in the south of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

(see

Jardines del Pedregal Jardines del Pedregal ( en, Rocky Gardens) or simply El Pedregal (full name: El Pedregal de San Angel) is an upscale residential '' colonia'' ( neighborhood) in southern Mexico City hosting some of the richest families of Mexico. It is also known a ...

and

San Ángel San Ángel is a colonia or neighborhood of Mexico City, located in the southwest in Álvaro Obregón borough. Historically, it was a rural community, called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. Its current name is derived from the El Carmen mon ...

). De Anda and her friends would mock these students as elitists and fake as they claimed to be

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in ...

while going to protests in their best clothes. At this point to de Anda, the ''chairo'' was viewed as

cool Cool commonly refers to: * Cool, a moderately low temperature * Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style Cool or COOL may also refer to: Economics * Country of origin labelling * mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...

for the things that their wealth provided them. The word started to acquire its current meaning in the mid-2000s. De Anda gave new impetus to the word circa 2004 when she began to use it in her blog, ''Plaqueta'', and to jokingly describe her left-leaning friends. In 2005, while de Anda attended the

Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales The Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales (FCPyS, ''Faculty of Political and Social Sciences'') is a faculty within Mexico's Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), responsible for directing research and teaching programs in the fie ...

, she created a satirical documentary titled ''Los Chairos'' which consisted of interviews with the "chairos" of Mexico City. The popularity of her blog helped increase views for the video and disseminate the term. ''Chairo'' then began to evolve from describing something cool and fun to instead mock those demonstrating against the system. De Anda self-describes as a ''chaira'' and has expressed discontent with the word's usage to denigrate dissenting views.

Stereotype

The term has been further popularized by

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

and now encompasses a large array of attributes. Most commonly seen as a 20-something college student, the term has also been extended to journalists, academics, writers and artists. Common traits attributed to the ''chairo'' include: an expansive leftist-

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

ideology, some sort of

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

view (sometimes grounded on

indigenismo ''Indigenismo'' () is a political ideology in several Latin American countries which emphasizes the relationship between the nation state and indigenous nations and indigenous peoples. In some contemporary uses, it refers to the pursuit of great ...

, i.e. demonizing or minimizing Mexico's Hispanic heritage and exalting everything "Aztec"), being indignant and fighting " the System" and

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...

. They may be against what they believe to be "

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

" and "

American imperialism American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conquest ...

". A ''chairo'' is sometimes seen as a radical that sympathizes with

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

that is in line with

Chavismo ''Chavismo'' (from es, chavismo), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez tha ...

. Other stereotypes include wearing Che Guevara shirts and smoking

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...

or ingesting

peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to g ...

. As well as adhering to the philosophy of

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

and reading the works of

Eduardo Galeano Eduardo Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "global soccer's pre-eminent man of letters" and "a literary giant of the Latin American left". Galean ...

. According to the '' Diccionario del español de México'', compiled by the Colegio de México, a ''chairo'' is an offensive adjective used to describe individuals that defend social and political causes that are in contrast with the political

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical th ...

, however they lack real commitment to the causes defended; an individual that is self-satisfied with their own attitudes.Diccionario del Español de México (DEM) http://dem.colmex.mx , El Colegio de México, A.C. Retrieved 4 October 2018. A picture of writer Daniel Malpica (editor of ''

Radiador Magazine '' adiadorMagazine'' ("Radiator Magazine") is a Mexico City/ Helsinki-based Mexican poetry magazine in digital platform devoted to the dissemination of non-conventional literature and arts. It was founded by poet and designer Daniel Malpica, and ...

'') became a popular

image macro An image macro is a piece of digital media featuring a picture, or artwork, with some form of text superimposed. The text frequently appears at the top and bottom of the image. Image macros are one of the most common forms of internet memes, and ...

of the "typical chairo".

References

{{reflist

External links

*
Los chairos
' at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

*
Texto sin pies ni cabeza sobre los hipsters
' post at ''El Universal'' where de Anda relates her usage of the term in high school 2000s slang Mexican slang Political pejoratives for people Political terminology Far-left politics in Mexico

Etymology

Stereotype

See also

References

External links