Page 13 - MONTT LATIN AMERICAN MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2021 (English)

part of the problem from a political point of view, perhaps it is that this group “mobilizes in the streets and on social networks with an unprecedented intensity, but at the time of the truth they are the ones that less vote of the history ”. In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, for example, only about 43 percent of those then 18 to 29 did so.
Unfair Stigmatization
However, ignorance often leads to millennials being stigmatized by people from other generations, who also consider them poorly prepared and without aspirations.
Although it is a very technological group, who like to take selfies, tattoo themselves, shave their hair to zero, dye it in improbable colours, they are also concerned about generating a positive social impact for the well-being of the people in their community. The Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, in its study “Millennials in Latin America and the Caribbean: Work or Study?”, Shows that this group of people is far from being a generation of lazy people.
The survey, carried out on more than 15 thousand individuals between 15 and 24 years old during 2017 and 2018, shows that 41 percent of them dedicate themselves exclusively to studying; 21 percent work and 17 percent carry out both activities, that is, eight out of 10 focus on a work, educational or training activity.
Additionally, the Fundación Telefónica study “Millennials in Latin America” shows that the true interest of this group is to work independently or freelance, since they do not want to commit to a single company or organization. The rest, 21 percent carry out activities that, for the most part, do not receive remuneration. 31 percent of this segment, mostly men, is dedicated to looking for work; 64 percent, largely women, care for their sick relatives or relatives. Only the three percent who have all the necessary elements to be part of the workforce, are paralyzed or inactive, that is, they do not do anything useful.
Regarding their intellectual and academic preparation, on the negative side, the IDB study shows that 40 percent lack minimal skill in solving basic mathematical operations and a third of those surveyed have
problems speaking the English language of fluid form. This is a serious disadvantage in an increasingly competitive job market. Things are different in Europe: a study by the UK Resolution Foundation establishes that millennials in that country they have a higher education even than their parents; in fact, 39 per cent of Britons between the ages of 25 and 39 are graduates, compared to 23 per cent of people whose ages range between 55 and 64.
Insecurity and Mistrust
But in Latin America there are also very encouraging results. Millennials in the Region are very skilled in handling technological devices, which are essential to enter the world of work. It is a generation that was born with a mobile phone, a computer and an infinity of online services under its arm.
They are sophisticated and ambitious people, but they lack confidence, analysts say, because older people started working in the mid-2000s, and many lost their good jobs after the 2008 crisis. Then came house price inflation. while interest rates fell: leaving home, getting a job, getting married and having children was put off too much. Perhaps that is why, if there is something that characterizes them, it is their distrust. A Pew study shows that only 19 percent of millennials believe they can trust others, compared to 40 percent of baby boomers and 31 percent of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980.
Millennials’ belief in institutions is low. “This generation is sceptical of governments and large corporations,” says Keith Niedermeier, a Wharton business school professor. Malcolm Harris, author of the book Kids These Days, says this is natural in a generation that has to fight for its safety. “If competition is the main feature of your world, it’s hard to find confident people,” he says.
The uncertainty and the absence of a clear vision of the future has caused resentment, psychological fragility and an attitude of disbelief towards institutions such as politics and parties.
The market wants to captivate this generation, given its volume, while companies seek to harness their talents
for innovation and close ties to technology. However, experts maintain that it is in the political scene where they could yield their best results for the continent, despite the fact that they do not like this discipline. Democracy and Values
However, a study by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, entitled “Youth and Satisfaction with Democracy: How to Reverse the Democratic Disconnection?”, Led by Professor Roberto Foa, director of the Centre for the Future of the Democracy of this English university, this is one of the generations most dissatisfied with democracy. It is a disaffection that spans the five continents.
In southern Europe and some developing countries many arrived in their mid-30s without formal employment contracts, living with their parents and unable to advance in life, feeling frustrated and bitter. The author of the study is, however, optimistic. “Baby boomers, in the past, due to their demographic weight, always had a disproportionate political influence, and benefits such as good pensions, working conditions. But that is not forever. The younger people you have in an economically excluded society, the closer you will be to forming a political majority. And at that point, there will be a change in the balance of public policies, ”he assures.
Beyond the electoral behaviour of millennials, which are circumstantial and can lead to misunderstandings -if they abstain or not, if they vote for this or that option-, the central question is that there are many who are closer to solidarity than profit, participation than exclusion, collaboration than rivalry. Millennials are the nucleus of thousands and thousands of projects and actions in the world that fight against hunger, against the destruction of the environment and to reduce or eradicate violence in the poor communities of the world. There is, that is indisputable, a deep link between millennials and the public interest, but not from the perspective of power or profit, but from the desire to improve the quality of life of those who live in vulnerable conditions. In parallel, they have much more critical sense than their parents and are much more demanding: they ask for transparency, collaboration, commitment and tolerance,
Montt Latin American Magazine p13
Differences Between American and First Millennial Dictator Latin Millennials