Sep 15, 2021 15:50
3 yrs ago
21 viewers *
Spanish term

Juegavivo y argolla

Spanish to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Headline
In Panama, a juegavivo is someone who takes advantage of any opportunity for personal gain.
Argolla is more used in Peru.

Translating an article about Public corruption in Latin America, I don't find two equivalent idioms in English...
Welcome, compinches, for your ideas...

Source sentence:
Asimismo, entre otras causas esta la falta de disciplina que viene desde la formación de la persona, ya que el peruano está acostumbrado a tener todo fácil, no se reconoce el mérito con el cual una persona consigue algo, sino el compadrazgo, el juegavivo, la argolla, la coima, etc

Proposed translations

8 hrs
Selected

self-serving opportunism and cronyism

I would suggest

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Note added at 8 hrs (2021-09-16 00:21:50 GMT)
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cronyism
DEROGATORY
the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2021-09-16 00:32:01 GMT)
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Opportunism is a self-serving, self-centered approach to situations that disregards how others feel. Opportunism doesn't necessarily break the law, but it does violate manners and decency.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2021-09-16 00:33:04 GMT)
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I know it's tautological but does add a little emphasis so...
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "This is the one I feel the closest. Thank you"
+1
36 mins

Opportunism and being part of the in-crowd

By the same token amongst other reasons is the lack of discipline that comes from a person's upbringing, since Peruvians are used to having everything easy, the merit with which a person achieves something is not acknowledged, but instead cronyism, opporunism, being part of the in-crowd, and kickbacks are;
Note from asker:
THank you Oliver, I am aware of these equivalences, they are correct but they change the registry, I am looking for an idiom. Like "corrupt clique" for "argolla", but for "juega vivo" I am still trying to find something stronger than "opportunism"
Peer comment(s):

agree neilmac
32 mins
Thank you!
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4 hrs

advantage-taking and gang membership

I am not at all sure what you are looking for asker. You say you are aware of equivalences (to Oliver) but it is hard to judge exactly what register you require and why you need something "stronger".

I have deliberately put two "strong" terms but these could be way too "strong".
Note from asker:
Hello Allegro! "Advantage-taking" or "advantage-grabbing" is possible, yes, but "gang membership" refers usually to an openly criminal association, which in Latin America refers to another form of criminality, more violent.
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6 hrs

Enterprising and clannish

Entrepreneurial in a tight-knit way.
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Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

Refs.

"juega vivo" is actually two words. I don't think "opportunistic" is quite strong enough as the word "juega vivo" often carries a far more negative connotation, and bordering on the illegal.

https://www.italaw.com/sites/default/files/case-documents/it...
See page 192:
913 See Pérez ¶ 8 (describing Panama’s juega vivo culture of “exploiting every angle and gaining every
advantage”); id. ¶ 53 (stating that it is “not unreasonable or farfetched that Mr. Varela would have asked Mr. Rivera” for a $600,000 campaign contribution”).

page 246:
1162 See Pérez ¶ 53 (explaining that not engaging in good faith with contractual partners by “delaying, obfuscating
and manipulating negotiations” is consistent with the practice of “juega vivo”).


¿Qué es argolla en Perú?
Goal: En el Perú –y en otras partes de América Latina- se suele llamar argollas a grupos cerrados de personas que monopolizan o regulan el acceso a determinados beneficios, oportunidades o formas de poder y prestigio, apelando a ciertos lazos comunes de afinidad y excluyendo a otras personas ajenas a esos círculos.

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/argolla-peruanismo.1...
Entiendo que significa, formar grupos de personas que se vinculan como si estuvieran en una "hermandad", y que manejan y favorecen según sus caprichos y antojos a otras personas (miembros o no miembros de su "argolla") en cualquier entorno o sociedades. Es algo muy similar a lo que sucede con los estudiantes de Universidades de USA que suelen agruparse en "hermandades" con nombres ideados por ellos mismos. This link makes reference to another word "camarilla" used in other Latin American countries.

Camarilla is borrowed from Spanish and is the diminutive of "cámara," which traces to the Late Latin camera and means "room"; a "camarilla," then, is literally a "small room." Political cliques and plotters are likely to meet in small rooms (generally with the door closed) as they hatch their schemes, and, by 1834, "

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/camarilla
a group of unofficial or private advisers to a person of authority, especially a group much given to intrigues and secret plots; cabal; clique.

Just a few ideas/options but time does not allow me to research further.

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Note added at 1 hr (2021-09-15 17:48:38 GMT)
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https://www.liveincostarica.com/blog/2014/01/what-is-an-argo...
However, in Costa Rica this term has a completely different connotation. Here it refers to a closed group of insiders or clique.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2021-09-15 19:54:03 GMT)
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Andre:

I really don't know why you would be looking for an "idiom" or "idiomatic phrase" when what you have are a set of words!

"Compadrazgo", "el juega vivo", "la argolla", "la coima", etc., unless the text you have provided is only indicative and not the actual text being translated? I have to say I am not happy with "corrupt clique" either as I am sure there is "one word" that can be found to describe "argolla".

As far as "juega vivo" again it appears to be a word or phrase that you need as opposed to something idiomatic, but ... ?????????

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Note added at 6 hrs (2021-09-15 22:01:07 GMT)
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I read the www.quora.com entry, and if one word does not suffice, a phrase caught my eye ... “Juega vivo” covers a broad range of situations from exploitation of every angle to gain an advantage, to an outright swindle. In other words, one option is to maintain the Spanish term then offer an explanation, or use a footnote.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2021-09-15 22:08:59 GMT)
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Synonyms:
Definitions from Oxford Languages
cabal > a secret political clique or faction.
"a cabal of dissidents"

Similar:
clique
faction
coterie
band
gang
cell
sect
caucus
junta
pressure group
camarilla


ARCHAIC
a secret intrigue.
Note from asker:
THanks Taña, you are absolutely spot on, so "argolla" could be translated as "corrupt clique", and "juega vivo"...we need something stronger than "opportunist"...I wish to find a proper equivalent idiom here...but perhaps the is not.
Look, here in quora they just use the borrowing in English: https://www.quora.com/What-do-they-mean-in-Panama-when-they-say-juega-vivo
Just to precise that as you say, there is probably no exact equivalent in English, my question was rather to check if, perhaps, someone would know one...
Peer comments on this reference comment:

agree philgoddard
11 hrs
Thanks.
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2 days 7 hrs
Reference:

Ref

There was a high (40%) victimization rate in Perù, which has decreased in recent years. A former president of Perù was convicted of abuse of power, corruption and money laundering before he fled to Japan in 2006 (according to Wikipedia). Perù was known for its production and illegal trading of drugs.
Travel guides used to warn people of the risks for tourists in Perù, who could be targets for criminal networks or gang rings. Travel guides also advised people to make health care provisions in case of travel sickness or infections.
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