Mexico: On When Yes Means No

In a February 19, 2009, blog post to Alioqui Negotiis, CM recounts his experience in Michoacan with indirectness in Mexican communication style. I excerpt below:

Alioqui Negotiis - February 19, 2009
When Yes means No

"Mexicans love to say they'll help you, the problem is determining when they actually mean. Often, the process goes something like this:


  1) Person agrees to help.
  2) Person avoids you at all cost.
  3) If you manage to get in touch with said person, they promise to help right away/as soon as possible.
  4) Person repeats steps 2 and 3 until you give up.


"The doctor I was to contact in Michoacan (see last post) managed to be out of the office, in meetings, or otherwise "unavailable" every time I called last week, which was quite a lot, and has not called me since I left my number with the secretary; in other words, he has been remarkably successful in step 2. Frustrating, but at least I know where I stand.


"My adviser, on the other hand, I haven't figured out. When I manage to get in touch with him, he always tries (or at least appears to try) to be quite helpful, making calls for me etc. On the other hand, he's not easy to get in touch with, and his 'contacts', such as the guy in Michoacan, don't necessarily come through. He promised to call the Michoacan doctor for me after I told him my difficulties on Tuesday, but "I'll let you know this afternoon" has turned into 2 days without hearing from him. Am I trapped in step 3 with Dr. Rios, or is Dr. Rios trapped in step 2/3 with his contact in Morelia? Hard to tell. I'd like to think that this is just another example of Mexico being slow, but I think that's a little naive considering how common and ongoing these types of problems are here."

This is a classic example of indirectness in communication style. Reasons for this indirectness of style in Mexico (a style common in many other cultures, as well) are explored and explained in Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide.

This begs a synopsis on indirectness, at some time... If I can get to writing it, I will post it here.

Links to:
Blog - Alioqui Negotiis
Book - Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide (focus on Mexico)
Book - Communicating with Brazilians: When "Yes" Means "No"