Which Latin American Countries Hate & Like the US the Most?

Whenever you are back home in the US, you always encounter once in a while the American who thinks that everybody outside of the US hates the US.

And that they all hate Americans as apparently any other nationality is unable to distinguish between the government and its people.

If you are going to Russia, they hate us because they are Russia and we had the Cold War.

China? Communists.

Africa? Well, I never heard anyone say they hate us but you have the usual stereotypes of everyone having AIDs, the entire continent being too violent, etc.

England? They probably are still mad we kicked their ass in the Revolution.

Latin America? They hate Trump and so they hate us. Plus, cartels and shit.

Middle East? Islamic terrorists who want to cut off our heads.

China? Our new arch enemy in the Cold War 2.0.

Canadians? They're just jealous that we're cooler than they are.

So on and so on.

In all seriousness, you do have people back home who straight up will not travel abroad for that reason: they must all hate us out there and so I'm not leaving!

Of course, plenty of Americans do travel. In fact, as you can see here, over 70% have been outside of the country at least once.

So it's not a majority by any means that are too scared to go outside.

Just some of them.

Though that minority might be louder and more noticeable than the rest.

As it relates to Latin America though, one has to ask then: do they hate us?

Do Latin Americans Hate Americans?

Obviously, this is a tough question to answer because you are talking about hundreds of millions of people across many different countries.

But you do have certain characters in Latin America that are not overly friendly with Americans and, at times, other foreigners by extension.

They include at least the following:

First: Rural types who are just suspicious of any outsiders in general (like you'd see in any country).

Second: Those who have a shit life living in shitty conditions with minimal money and no women by their side. These types blame Americans for EVERYTHING that goes wrong in their lives. If someone slipped on a banana peel in Ushuaia of Argentina, they'd blame us for it. 

Quite often, these folks do bring up some legitimate complaints of US atrocities but, on the other hand, sometimes use the US as a scapegoat so they don't have to look at their own faults or fuck ups with local politicians even pandering to that as I wrote here or here. 

One thing you do notice is this type is also usually very left wing and always supports Russia and China no matter what they do because their 50 IQ mind works like the following:

Support Russia/China = support something US doesn't like = good (even if what they support is a government that also engages in atrocities).

More on that topic here.

Third: Those in high tourism areas that are sick of outsiders moving in mass because 1) the specific individual doesn't benefit from working in tourism and 2) has a knee jerk reaction to the perception that "there are too many foreigners speaking odd languages I don't understand."

These types might even get sick of other Latin Americans moving in mass as I wrote here.

Above all, it's nothing more than a typical reaction you see from any group of people in any country when too many foreigners move in during a short period.

Fourth: You also have those who have an inferiority complex about being from "the third world" and believe that every American looks down on them and is racist (despite never having met one). They might also ironically enough deny racism exists in their own country as a side point.

Anyway, these types will badly interpret anything you say as somehow being a comment to put them down when it wasn't. 

Fifth: Those who dislike certain skin colors like you'd find in any country. The Latin American who dislikes white folks, the one who hates black people, etc.

Sixth: You also have the "snobby wannabe European" that is actually Latin American that believes he is from Europe (usually from Argentina).

Said Latin American then adopts stereotypical mentalities seen in Europe.

Like how some of folks in Europe look down on Americans and so said wannabe European that is actually Latin American will do the same.

Outside of all that, there might be other groups but those are the main ones that come to mind right now.

But what about which countries in my experience were the friendliest?

Which Countries Are the Friendliest?

I haven't spent time in literally every single Latin American country (though I have been to most).

But, even in some countries like Paraguay or Nicaragua, I was only there for a brief week or so.

Having said that, I think it's easier to talk about this not always in terms of countries but specific locations in said countries.

For example, I find people in CDMX to not be as friendly as people in other parts of Mexico.

Like Pachuca de Soto had plenty of very friendly people and I quite liked the city for that reason alone.

In CDMX anyhow, you'll notice that people are less friendly in areas that have a lot of foreign expats or digital nomads.

Where in areas without that flood of foreigners, you'll notice the locals are much friendlier as I wrote here.

Be it areas like Pedregal de Santo Domingo vs. Condesa.

And outside of CDMX and Mexico?

In my personal experience anyhow, I remember Bolivians being quite friendly in the city of Cochabamba. One of the best countries I have been to in terms of friendliness of the locals.

But your experience might vary!

I also know that some other gringos see "the Andean region" (such as Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) as being less friendly on average than other regions of Latin America.

In fact, those who say that usually say that those in Chiapas of Mexico or Guatemala are less friendly also.

I'm pretty sure for them it's an indigenous thing where they find indigenous people on average to be less friendly as that is the main commonality among all of those areas.

To some degree, I get it but I think it's more to do with the fact those areas tend to be more rural on average and rural folks have a tendency to be less friendly to outsiders on average.

On top of that, you are much more of a novelty in said areas being the only white guy in town and that might have something to do with it.

Being the only person of any skin color in an area where none of the locals look like you can offer positives and negatives but that's another topic.

Similarly, I know I have heard plenty of times that Paraguayans are very friendly.

I've heard a few gringos actually say they are the friendliest of Latin America.

Not sure how true that is in my experience.

I've been there and thought they were OK.

Their friendliness might have something to do though with the fact that the country hasn't been as flooded with foreigners like with Mexico or Colombia.

Though, if you have been paying attention to the news, Paraguay did just put "on hold" residency applications.

From what people are saying, it seems it might have to do with the higher numbers of applicants they have been getting these days.

So who knows if Paraguayans ever become less friendly over time but time will tell.

As I said, places with a flood of any group of foreigners will see a spike in xenophobia usually.

Outside of all of that, I do remember people in Nicaragua being very friendly to me during my short time there.

Memorably so.

Finally, you always have Argentina where most people -- including Latin Americans themselves as I wrote here -- find them very unfriendly on average.

Though, in my experience, it depends on where the dude is from. I find those from places like Misiones or Corrientes to be more friendly than say Buenos Aires.

But these are all just "shooting from the hip" experiences.

Let's cover some actual numbers beyond anecdotal experiences.

Do Latin Americans Approve of the US?

Thankfully, we have this information here from the Economist.

For those who don't want to click the link, I'll summarize the findings.

Basically, they looked into the number of Latin Americans in each country that approve of the US.

My best guess is that you'll probably find friendlier people in countries with higher approval ratings (even though most people can distinguish between the government and its people but some can't).

So this is what their map shows.

Countries where the approval rating is in the 40-49% range: Argentina.

Countries where the approval rating is in the 50-59% range: Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela, Uruguay and Mexico.

Countries where the approval rating is in the 60-69% range: Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Guatemala.

Countries where the approval rating is in the 70-79% range: Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Countries where the approval rating is in the 80-89% range: Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

It breaks my heart to see no country had 100% approval rating. 🙁

Final Thoughts

So how many of you reading this are packing your bags for Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic?

Anyway, I wouldn't put that much faith in the numbers on how many approve of the US.

It has some importance in regards to how many of the locals fall under that group of those who blame all their life problems on the US and, by extension, Americans in general.

Obviously a country with a lower approval rating probably has more of those types.

Though there are two things I'd add:

First, you got losers in every country. It's not a big deal. Don't hang with losers and you'll be OK.

Second, if you conduct yourself well, you'll probably also be OK.

Any local who doesn't have that strong of a bias against people like you will treat you with respect if you treat them with respect.

As long as you aren't an ass, the average person you encounter even in Argentina will treat you OK.

Some basic tips for that:

1. Try to learn enough Spanish to communicate if you are going to live down here versus visiting for a week.

2. Be aware that some Latin Americans will try to be condescending if you call yourself an American or say you are from America. If you want to avoid triggering their severe autism, just say you are from the US. If you are like me and don't care too much, then go ahead and say American. More on that topic here.

3. Know that the terms expat and digital nomad can piss some people off also or make them think you believe that you are better than them.

4. Try avoiding phrases like "back home, we have this" or "why don't they have x here?" Such phrases can be seen as condescending.

5. When addressing more issues you find in the country (too much trash, gringo pricing, shit driving, etc), try not to mention it too much to a local. Some gringos will sit on a high horse and judge you too if you notice any of the actual problems (no matter how big or small). Even to the point that, if you ask where to find a beach without vendors, people will get pissed as I wrote here.  

6. Understand that some locals just have a massive inferiority complex and will interpret LITERALLY anything you say as somehow putting them or their country down as I said early in this article.

Nothing you can do about it. These people are like folks in any country that have pre established ideas about you based on your background and you can't change it.

If you notice a local is like that, just understand you are looking at a faggot and it's best to stop interacting with him.

7. Always keep an open mind to learning new things when traveling but also keep in mind some locals in any country might be full of shit. A little but of humbleness but always remember the background and motivations of the person giving you new information.

Those are just a few tips anyway.

There might be other things worth mentioning but those are some of the basics that come to mind.

Anyway, that's all I got to say.

If you got anything to add, drop a comment below.

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And enjoy this relevant song.

America Fuck Yeah

Thanks for reading.

Best regards,

Matt