How long will Lezama keep going on with that squid? Readers may be wondering, but for now, the investigation into the identity of the inhabitants of "America Here" will continue.
There has been reflection on the identification of the region, the official identification of its inhabitants, individual self-identification, and even what signs the genotype gives to characterize the population on this side of the continent; however, these are not enough.
It's one thing to say and believe oneself to be, and another to know oneself as one truly is, what one doesn't know, hides, and represses, unconsciously or deliberately. It's about deciphering, within the role-playing of the world of lived experience, the identity of the American here. We must remove that veil, as far as possible. This time, the focus is on cultural identity.
More than is usually said
The core of this reflection will be based on the World Values Survey (WVS) by Inglehart and Welzel, chosen for: its scope, with more than 90 countries surveyed; its application over more than 40 years, since 1981, which allows for appropriate time series for longitudinal studies; because it is applied not only to the continent but globally; to date, more than 400.000 people have been surveyed in 120 societies and countries evaluated - around 90% global coverage; in each new wave, it is refined in form and substance, each wave comprises the periodic application of the surveys, the analysis and the presentation of results; currently, wave 8 (2024-2026) is being processed. Each survey consists of between 250 and 260 variables (questions) and covers a variety of values ranging from social to safety and environment, even though the pillars of the thesis put forward in the research are economic and political values.
The reflection will be complemented by other theoretical and empirical studies that also offer a characterization of what the inhabitants of "America here" are like, culturally speaking.
In this regard, the findings of Geert Hofstede's empirical study of "Cultural Dimensions," with data series spanning more than 50 years, are included. Likewise, other theoretical studies characterizing the region are considered, in particular: the "Binary Cultures" of Polish social psychologist Kuba Kryś, along with researchers Vivian Vignoles and Yuriko Uchida, and the "Hybrid Cultures" of Argentine-Mexican anthropologist and cultural critic Néstor García Canclini, one of the most influential theoretical frameworks for understanding modernity in Latin America.
Why values if the goal is culture?
The starting point is the fundamental premise or axiom of cross-cultural psychology and political sociology, which states: “collective values operate as the latent cause, the predictive map, and the framework for legitimizing social and institutional behavior.” Values are conditioning factors for motivation and social behavior.
Latin America, one of the 9 cultural zones of the world
Values as an adaptive strategy
From the World Values Survey (WVS) by Inglehart and Welzel, applying statistical techniques, the 250 to 260 questions, asked to between 1.000 and 1.200 people per country, are reduced to a point on a map (x,y).
An “x” coordinate indicates the degree to which basic human needs are met, ranging from a level of Survival values—emphasizing material security, low trust, and ethnocentrism—to a level of Self-Expression values—emphasizing subjective well-being, tolerance, gender equality, and political participation. A “y” coordinate indicates existential values, ranging from Traditional values—emphasizing family, religion, community, traditions, respect for authority, and rejecting abortion and divorce—to Secular values—less religious, more individualistic, more questioning of authority, more rational, and more freethinking. Countries with common patterns are grouped into “clusters” or blocs based on their location on this map.
In waves 7 and 8, the number of country "clusters" increased to 9 zones and are: Latin America and the Caribbean, Protestant Europe (Nordic), Anglo-speaking World, Catholic Europe, Eastern Orthodox Europe, Confucian Asia, South Asia, Islamic World (North Africa and Middle East) and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Cultural Dimensions and the 5 blocks
Values as the mental operating system
A Dutch mechanical engineer with a doctorate in sociology, who was head of IBM's personnel research department between 1963 and 1973, created this methodology and applied it to more than 116 employees worldwide in order to determine the impact of national cultures on the behavior of the company's employees.
The survey results are used to calculate six indices: Power Distance Index (PDI), which measures the degree to which the least powerful members of a society accept and expect that power will be distributed unequally; Individualism Index (IDV), which measures the degree of interdependence that a society maintains among its members (the focus on "I" versus "We," Individualism vs. Collectivism); Achievement Motivation Index (MAS), which measures the degree of competence, assertiveness versus caring, and empathy, originally associated with the male and female genders, respectively; Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), which measures the degree to which members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguity, the unknown, or unstructured situations; The Long-Term Orientation Index (LTO) measures how cultures prioritize their time, choosing between fostering virtues oriented toward future rewards (thrift, persistence) or respect for tradition and fulfillment of immediate social obligations; the Indulgence vs. Restraint Index (IVR) measures the degree to which societies allow the free gratification of basic human impulses related to enjoying life and having fun. These last two were added in the 90s and 2010, respectively, by the consortium that continues the work.
The study identifies common patterns by country, allowing them to be grouped into 5 blocs: 1. The Anglo Bloc (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand); 2. The Latin American Bloc (Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, etc.); 3. The East Asian / Confucian Bloc (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan); 4. The Nordic Bloc (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands); 5. The Germanic Bloc (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
From the World Values Survey
Latin America, the “Expressive Paradox,” challenges classical sociological theories of Eurocentric modernization. Traditional models assume that for a society to adopt post-materialist values of self-expression (tolerance, individualism, emancipation), it must first become secular, scientific, and cold. Latin America demonstrates that one can be deeply affective, communal, and religious, and at the same time demand radical levels of freedom and enjoyment.
Of the Cultural Dimensions
The Latin American Bloc (Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, etc.)
Common pattern: It presents a very uniform combination: High Power Distance (hierarchical) and very low Individualism (collectivist). Additionally, they register high Uncertainty Avoidance (need for clear rules, written laws, and structure) and, in the latest model updates, extremely high scores in Indulgence, being the region that most prioritizes the enjoyment of life and optimism.
A synthesis of the cultural identity of Americans here, based on the approaches mentioned
Four major conceptual axes define the cultural identity of Americans here, and they are:
1. Expressive and Indulgent Collectivism (Hofstede + WVS)
Latin America is not collectivist by disciplinary design, but by affective design. What is done at the social level is mediated by the pursuit of subjective well-being, celebration, relational optimism, and the enjoyment of the present as mechanisms of resilience in the face of structural crises.
2. The Dissolution of the Western Binary (Kuba Kryś)
Latin Americans possess an "interdependent-expressive self." Regional identity is characterized by the capacity to maintain a deep loyalty to the community fabric (collectivism) while displaying a high degree of assertiveness, extroversion, emotional intensity, and individual autonomy (traits typically associated with individualism). There is no need to break with family or community to express oneself; the group is, in fact, the arena where the individual validates and celebrates their existence.
3. Hybridization as a Strategy for Entry into and Exit from Modernity (García Canclini)
The region moves in and out of secular modernity as it sees fit. A Latin American citizen might use cutting-edge post-industrial technology for their work processes (modernity/self-expression), and that same night participate in a patron saint's religious procession or consult a shaman (tradition). The cultural goods of globalization are reinterpreted locally: the region's identity is adept at combining and hybridizing resources to survive.
4. The Tension between Theocentrism and Institutional Anchoring (WVS + Hofstede)
Trust is not placed in the cold institutions of the secular-rational state, but in sacred or traditional bonds (God, the Virgin Mary, family, the charismatic leader). Morality and justice in Latin America continue to be largely interpreted from a theocentric or humanist-affective perspective, rejecting the technical-instrumental reduction of human relations. This is the framework for legitimation.
It is clear that even in the face of the rich cultural and ethno-racial diversity of the Americas, there is a common, consolidated and deeply rooted cultural identity that serves as a guide for the development of strategies, policies and integration plans for the countries of the region.
However, there is another perspective we want to present on how the region is perceived by other countries around the world, which consider it a rich "storehouse of natural resources." That will be the next topic in this series.
