Uruguay Works

03.Jun.2013

When asked about the comments made by President José Mujica regarding the Uruguayan’s lack of passion for work, sociologist Alfredo Falero said to Montevideo Portal that “all generalizations are abusive” and he described the notion of Uruguayans not wanting to work as a “myth”.

In a conversation with Montevideo Portal, sociologist Alfredo Falero clarified that he hadn’t heard Mujica’s statements, pointing out that he didn’t want to speak from a “spontaneous sociology” perspective as Bourdieu called it(to give an explanation based on an statement), but he expressed that “there is a misconception” about the idea that Uruguayans are lazy people.

 “I didn’t hear Mujica’s statements, but the underlying topic, that of the uruguayans being lazy, I believe that is all a myth, because the average is based on extremely diverse situations; it is like saying ‘the average uruguayan’, which does not exist, those are constructs that are generated overtime, social representations that a society creates about itself that could be true, a myth or just plain false”, claimed Falero.

Along those lines, the sociologist stressed that saying that Uruguayans are this or that way, without considering what it is said, is inconsistent. “Any generalization about a society is abusive and false”

 “It can’t be said that Uruguayans are lazy: there are people who work a lot, in different social sectors; in popular sectors there are people with multiple jobs, working extra hours, or that because of the nature of their jobs, they often have to work a lot on weekends.”

The sociologist denied that there are too many public holidays in Uruguay, pointing out that some powerful first world countries have a lot more public holidays than Uruguay, “I believe there are some misconceptions about it”, he said.

Falero also pointed out that the same happens when it is said that our society is not corrupt: “The measures on corruption are based on a survey that asks, in different countries, what people think their society is like, for example to businessmen or people who are in important positions, and people say yes or no, and indexes are built on that.

 “It is necessary to understand that there are interests involved in the creation of those representations and that can be translated into opinion surveys. What it is known as “public opinion” is a technical myth. Just as there is a technical myth about the market, that of free competition, there is a social myth about an existing public opinion where people make decisions freely, which is completely false. People make decisions based on what they hear, on their own reasoning, on the elements they have and don’t have to make an analysis. And more social images are being created which hold some elements of truth and some of falsehood”, he stated.

During a presentation before Spanish businessmen organized by Grupo Santander and the Uruguayan Embassy, President Jose Mujica said that Uruguay is “a small country”, “well-respected in spite of its dimensions” and added that “we are not known for being very hardworking”.

 “We are kind of lazy, we don’t really like to work a lot (.) Nobody is dying from working too much, but it is not a corrupt country, we are a decent country. This seriousness has given us credibility in the international sphere” he stated.