You sometimes encounter terms like comprador when you read different articles and interviews. Who are they, and what do these people do? In this article, we would like to tell you about it.
Who are compradores?
The comprador term is translated as the customer from Spanish and Portuguese. In addition, this term has Latin roots because it is derived from the word «comparable,» which means «sell.»
In ancient times, the comprador was a merchant intermediary between his state and foreign capital. Today, compradors are third-world entrepreneurs cooperating with Western countries to conduct profitable sales deals.
History of compradores
In East Asia, the comprador term originated from Europeans living there. It was the term they used to call their servants, who they sent to the market on a responsible mission, such as selling foreign goods.
Years later, compradors became suppliers who cooperated with foreign companies and heads of representations of foreign organizations. For example, in China, compradors have formed an efficient economy, so now, they sell tea, silk, and wool on the world market.
And then…
And then, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the so-called comprador bourgeoisie formed in colonial countries. This group consisted of merchants and nobles. The ideas of the comprador bourgeoisie differed significantly from those of local entrepreneurs.
For example, entrepreneurs’ actions aimed to develop their country’s economy and increase prestige. The comprador bourgeoisie convinced foreigners of the inferiority of its country and was thought to be brokers between the colonists and the countries that depended on them.
The purpose of such intermediation is a personal benefit because the intermediaries receive the money and keep the money in banks at the expense of the developed countries.
Due to their active cooperation with the colonizers, the modern USA and the developed countries of Europe accused the comprador bourgeoisie of betraying and even destroying the economies of the developing countries. Comprador bourgeoisie is subordinate to the colonizers, so the state remains a colony.
We want to attract your attention because, in the 19th and 20th centuries, representatives of the comprador bourgeoisie did not participate in anti-colonial movements or the First and Second World Wars.
The decline of the comprador bourgeoisie occurred after World War I when the development of the national economy began to develop very quickly in the priority issue. After World War II, when countries sought independence, the comprador bourgeoisie was defeated.
Compradores of our time
In our time, the comprador term got the most negative meaning. Today, oligarchs and wealthy officials with real estate and accounts in banks abroad have such a name. However, such people are fine with the fate of their home state, and personal wealth is the most important for them.
Over time, people began to realize a need to develop a national economy without regard to the former colonizers. In a speech on 14 December 2011, the General Secretary of the Committee of the Greek Communist Party said: They are talking about the comprador of the bourgeoisie.
Consequently, the relative delay in the development of Greek capitalism is a consequence of the weakness or absence of the possibility of domestic capitalist accumulation. We compare this to the leading powers’ most potent and developed capitalism». These words are relevant not only to Greece but also to other countries.
