-   What is a rosca?

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A rosca is a group of people, usually exclusivist, because they don’t let anyone else in.

 

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-  How widespread of a phenomenon is it?

 

You can find it in politics, businesses, even in schools, because these are people who have the same economic level, dress the same, or have the same ideology, so it’s used for almost anything.

 

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-  What would you say the relationship between members of a rosca is?

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The relationship between members is of friendship, in Colombia they call each other “compinches” as in “partners”, who cover for each other, loyal, they are always together.

 

-  What can you do to be part of a rosca?

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You can enter through a palanca, having someone inside the rosca to help you get in.

 

-  How are roscas different from palancas?

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Let’s say you are a politician. Let’s say you need a document signed, but that document would not be approved that easily. If you have a person inside, let’s say in court, if you give him the document it’s called “approving it through a palanca” (pasarlo por palanca). Because you are friend of the person who has approved it through palanca. You enter a rosca through a palanca, through someone who has brought you in.

 

Let me give you another example. Let’s say there’s a concert. Shakira’s concert. You got the tickets through palanca because your mum was a friend of the manager so you got tickets or got in through a palanca, but you are not part of the rosca. You are not part of Shakira’s group, which is the rosca, but you still got in through a palanca.

 

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-  What does the saying “Lo malo de la rosca es no estar en ella” mean?

 

This expression is very popular, it is always used in Colombia because, let’s say, someone gets a job because they were part of the rosca or because it got in through palanca. In the end this is not a bad thing, but people are envious or jealous. But in itself, it’s not a bad thing at all, so the only downside of the rosca is not being part of it, or not having a palanca. In itself it’s not a bad thing, but there are people who don’t have a rosca or a palanca and that’s the only bad thing.

 

Roscas can be good or bad. Obviously, in politics. Let’s say a group of people that belong to the same party, that’s a rosca. Roscas can be good or bad. So there can be people who do a lot of bad things in a government because their rosca has palancas in the government that manage to evade taxes, or like in the example about the document that I gave earlier. And that’s what many roscas do in Colombia in politics.

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