Socioeconomic Class and Mexico (home, cinema, construction, public school)

[tvdxer]

What class do the following families belong to?

(Note: These characters are strictly fictional. Any resemblance to individuals in real life is solely coincidental)

1) Juan, 35 and Yuleidy, 28 are a co-habitating couple and parents of Brithini, 12, Juan Walter, 10, and Kathy, 7 in Chetumal, Q.R. Juan works as a construction laborer while Yuleidy runs a fledgling "cocina economica". They live in a modest three single-story dwelling consisting of a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and one bedroom of approximately 50 m^2 (500 ft^2) area, currently also shared by the Juan's brother, Manuel Antonio, who the family knows as “Chango”. Juan has completed eight years of schooling; Yuleidy, nine; and Chango, six. Juan is currently accumulating building materials to build an addition onto the house, although he is four years into the process and has not made much progress. The children generally sleep in hammocks strung across the living room, while Chango sleeps in the kitchen or the terrace outside. All children go to public school and are taken care of by two of their aunts, who live near by, when their mother is working her stand. The parents do not own a car and commute by pesero (dollar van) and bus to their destination. The home has a 19" television (illegally connected to cable TV), DVD player, stereo, running water and sewage but no air conditioning nor computer. They own no books other than a Bible and a few school books, and the adults do not read for leisure. The adults of the family both have pre-paid cell phones. Britney washes the family's clothes in her aunt's washing machine. Yuleidy watches her blood sugar as she is borderline diabetic, and medical treatment for her would not be economically feasible. In their downtime, the couple enjoys watching telenovelas and La Voz de Mexico, going to family parties, attending the cinema when Juan has a lot of work, and listening to corridos. Their assets are largely in bricks and building materials, as well as tools, which approximate $3,000 in value.

2. Jose Lauren, 50, and Maria Ana, 45, are a church-married couple with two children, Nathaniel Martin, 20, and Pao Laura, 15. Jose is a upper-level manager with a licenciate in Business Administration while Maria stays at home and sits on the board of a charity. Nathaniel attends a public university, and Pao a private secundaria. Pao recently celebrated her quinces, which was held at a prestigious hotel ball room with a professionally-choreographed waltz, transportation in a stretched-out Hummer limo, food prepared by a French-trained chef, and Buchanan's whiskey for the adults. The family employs a domestic servant, who performs such tasks as laundry, cleaning, and occasionally cooking, and well as a security guard, in their modern-style 275 m^2 (2,800 ft^2), three-story home in a gated community just outside Guadalajara. Jose drives a 2011 BMW X3, while Maria drives a 2008 Ford Focus, both purchased new. All members of the family have Blackberry smartphones, and they also possess three laptop computers with high-speed internet access, four televisions, including a 50” plasma in the media room, Sky satellite service, and a jacuzzi. Their living room, however, does not have a TV, but does have a book collection. They take a regular annual vacation of one or two week's duration, as well as trips around Christmastime to see their relatives and Jose's Americanbusiness contacts, and of course for shopping, in California. Past vacations have included trips to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, New York City, San Francisco, Costa Rica, Cuba, Acapulco, Cancun, Mazatlan, and Veracruz. Jose also owns a vacation home in Acapulco, which he rents out most of the year, and a rancho in Sonora. Nathaniel is semi-fluent in English, as is Jose.

3. Silvia, 50, is the divorced mother of Haydee, 27, who still lives with her, and Marco, 25, who is currently studying psychology at a university but stays over the weekends and vacations. Silvia is a manager of a local branch of a telecommunications company and Haydee the human relations manager for a major American chain. Silvia and Haydee live in a two-story home in Puebla with four bedrooms, two of which are rented out to four boarders, and Silvia also owns a small plot of land 20 minutes away, which is leased out. They have never been out of country but spend their Semana Santa in Puerto Escondido. The family does not speak English very well; however, they listen to Anglophone pop music, such as Ke$ha (Haydee's favorite), Lady Gaga, Coldplay, and Nickelback (Silvia's favorite). Haydee has a mini-laptop for school and Silvia a full-sized laptop, and they use the neighbor's Wi-Fi connection, which they pay part of, to access the internet. Silvia has graduated from the equivalent of high school and Haydee has a degree in psychology from a local private college.

[keyhero]

1.- Low class
2.- Lower high or middle high class (as you wish)
3.- Middle

[mexguy]

Socioeconomic D (poor class)
Socioeconomic D + (lower middle class)
Socioeconomic C (middle class)
Socioeconomic C + (upper middle class)
Socioeconomic status A / B (high class)

More info in spanish in this link: Niveles socioeconmicos en Mxico