- Arthur Wallace
- BBC World, Bogota (@bbc_wallace)
image source, AFP
In all countries there are social differences that condition the way in which people relate to each other. But in Colombia the stratum is indicated on the bill for public services.
I had lived in Colombia for about a month when I received the certification by mail that, at least as far as Bogotá is concerned, I am stratum four.
In a strict sense, the classification does not apply to people, but to homes; in my case, to the apartment that I have occupied since then in the Chapinero neighborhood.
And the certificate of yore, which originates from the cross-subsidy system under which public services operate here, was actually nothing more than the electric service bill.
By then, however, he already understands that for Colombians the number between one and six that appears monthly on the water, electricity and gas bills is not limited to indicating the rate that corresponds to each house.
It is also a constant reminder of the place that each one occupies – or is supposed to occupy – in Colombian society.
«The classificatory power of the stratification marks the identity of Colombians to the point that, when looking for company, the stratum is placed (in personal ads) next to sex, physical build or age,» says sociologist Consuelo Uribe Mallarino.
According to the researcher, who has worked on the subject for years, stratification has become «the predominant way in which urban Bogota and Colombians in general think about the social order.»
And I have always thought that stratum four is probably the most suitable for the correspondent of a public medium that prides itself on being balanced.
image source, BBC World Service
Stratum four dwellings pay basic services at their real cost. In the case of Bogotá constituting 10% of households. Stratum six, for their part, add up to 1.8% and stratum five, 2.7%.
«The stratum was noticed»
Let me explain: differentiated rates by strata are the basis of the system of cross-subsidies for public services that began to be applied in Colombia in the 1980s.
Under this scheme, the inhabitants of the most humble dwellings –classified in strata from one to three– pay for services that are less than what they really cost.
And with the most luxurious houses, the opposite happens.
This means that the inhabitants of homes in strata five and six subsidize the public services of the lowest-income residents.
While stratum four homes –like my apartment– pay for the services at their real cost.
And not transplanting yourself to the world of the privileged elite, but also not taking advantage of the subsidy system designed by the Colombian State, is probably the least that should be expected from the BBC correspondent.
image source, AFP
The houses considered historical heritage, such as those in the La Candelaria neighborhood, are considered E1. Which means that there are real mansions that pay for services at the lowest rates.
In addition, in Colombian society the strata also carried a very important symbolic load.
«The law says that it is the residences that are stratified, but it has been generalized that people are thought to be stratified,» explains Consuelo Mallarino.
«And this has extended to their places of study, to the parks, to the way of speaking,» adds the researcher.
As a result, people have also come to associate strata with particular behaviors, attitudes, and even values.
Thus, it is not uncommon to hear, for example, in a reproachful tone, expressions such as «The stratum was noticed!», to denounce behavior considered vulgar or inappropriate.
And I still remember a conversation, captured on air in a «stratum 18» bar in the north of Bogotá, in which some scandalized friends commented on a classmate’s relationship with «a stratum three girlfriend.»
image source, AFP
Although in theory the stratification is for housing, in practice Colombians also use the classification for the people and places they frequent.
Caste system?
Stratum 18 doesn’t really exist. And, despite what many believe, the classification does not apply to educational centers or commercial premises either.
But Colombians used these and other hyperboles –such as «stratum 00″– to refer to the extremes of a society that is still among the most inequitable on the entire planet.
Obviously, neither social inequalities nor the habit of linking behaviors, attitudes and values with social classes are something exclusively Colombian.
And, in fact, the use of expressions such as «naco», «cholo» or «indio» –in Mexico, the Andean region or Central America– to pejoratively describe the popular classes carries a load of racism that probably makes them even more shocking than the Colombian strata system.
But the existence of an official nomenclature to demonstrate the social difference -a kind of caste system accepted by all and organized by the State- is still impressive.
At least for newcomers to Colombian lands. Because Colombians already seem to be used to it.
image source, AFP
The socio-spatial segregation fostered by the strata system has helped to concentrate the majority of the rich in the north of Bogotá and the majority of the poor in the south.
«We Colombians have naturalized the strata as a way of dividing cities. It seems normal to us, that they have always existed, that it is a system that is used in all parts of the world,» academic Uribe confirms to me.
«Only when you see it with the eyes of a foreigner does it hit you, that as a Colombian you wonder: is this okay or not?», he says.
each one in his place
Uribe Mallarino is the Vice Chancellor for Research at the Universidad Javeriana and has researched the strata in Colombia in terms of its effects on social inclusion, so talking to her about the subject is fascinating.
In his opinion, despite some problems, the system has been effective in targeting subsidies.
But it has also had indirect consequences that make the search for other mechanisms desirable.
«We have so many things that divide us, so much social inequality, that do we really need a public policy that deepens those differences?» Uribe wonders.
Because, according to the sociologist, one of the material consequences of the strata system is that it has led to greater socio-spatial segregation in the country’s cities, making it increasingly difficult for different social classes to meet in the same space.
image source, AFP
Bogotá’s marked socio-spatial segregation has been aggravated by the subsidy targeting system, which does not encourage people to change strata.
The problem is that by focusing subsidies on residences, and not on income, the strata system has given social difference a clear spatial dimension that has ended up marking and segregating the territory, explains the sociologist.
And, in a certain way, it has also encouraged the residents to stay «where they belong.»
Uribe says that when various studies have asked people if they would move from stratum if they won the lottery, most answered «no,» because everything would become more expensive.
«There are no incentives to move from stratum, nor to improve residence, because there is a risk that the stratum will be reclassified and you will end up paying more,» explains the sociologist.
looking for a change
In the case of Bogotá, this causes people from the lowest strata to concentrate on the outskirts of the city, in the farthest part.
And the clear spatial segregation certainly also helps to make class origin even more recognizable: many Colombians only need to know in which area or neighborhood of their city a person lives to place them within the scale.
image source, AFP
Initiatives like the Ciclovía give Bogotanos from all walks of life the opportunity to mix.
All of the above does not mean that if the strata did not exist, class inequality would disappear.
«In all parts of the world there is a class structure that conditions the way people relate to and think of themselves,» explains Uribe.
«But the strata constantly remind us of it. They freeze it, they deepen it.»
Little by little, however, in Colombia the discussion on the need to change the targeting model of subsidies for the payment of public services has begun to take place.
image source, British Broadcasting Corporation
Public transport, another meeting place. But not for all strata.
And Consuelo Uribe hopes that in the near future she will no longer have to explain to other correspondents why Colombia divides its population into strata.
«I hope that in 10 years the stratification of residences has been dismantled, ways have been identified to target subsidies that go with the inhabitants and not with the place where they live. And hopefully that means a greater social mix,» he told BBC Mundo .
Although the problem is that so far only Bogotá is raising the discussion and the law that sets the strata is national.
Meanwhile, in any case, all residents of Colombian cities have their number from one to six.
Mine is four, surely not the highest.
But if one considers that only 10% of the homes in Bogotá deserve that classification, the truth is that I am privileged.