Recently, the word "comprador" is increasingly found in the Russian lexicon. Who this is, and what the word generally means, is not known to many. In this article, we will try to give a more or less accurate definition of the term, as well as talk about the history of this concept.
What does a comprador mean?
Perhaps you think that this word denotes a person of a specific profession. In fact, this applies to people, but this profession can hardly be called. So, the comprador - who is it? This word has Spanish-Portuguese roots. It literally translates as "buyer." In ancient Spanish countries , so-called local merchants or entrepreneurs who mediated between the national market and foreign capital. In the modern world, this word has a different meaning. The question of who the compradors are can be answered in a similar way: these are entrepreneurs in third world countries who actively cooperate with companies in the western world and help them make profitable exchanges. Compradors can also be called figures who do not want to contribute to the development of their own country and export their capital, as well as family members to Western and more developed countries. Remaining in their homeland, they become lobbyists for the interests of those countries where their capital is concentrated.
A bit of history
The original meaning of the word "comprador" was completely different. The Europeans who lived in East Asian countries used this word to mean a servant from local residents who trade in the markets they brought from Europe. Over time, this term has already been called the local supplier workers who worked for a particular foreign company. These were already heads of representative offices of foreign companies and firms. Their role in the Chinese economy was simply huge. Thanks to compradors, large-scale trade in tea, silk, cotton and yarn was conducted for foreign companies. These businessmen cooperated with banks of other countries.
Comprador bourgeoisie
Having dealt with the question "comprador - who is it", we will try to trace their influence on the development of the economy of some countries. In countries (mainly colonial), in which compradors operated, the so-called “comprador bourgeoisie” gradually began to form. This happened in the era of colonization, that is, in the 18-19th centuries. Sometimes this layer constituted the bulk of the entire bourgeoisie. She mediated both in the domestic and foreign markets. The comprador bourgeoisie, as a rule, was opposed to the national, as it was oriented towards foreigners. In modern Russia, the comprador bourgeoisie is understood as those corporations that belong to the mining complex, that is, oil, metallurgy, gas, etc. They sell the lion's share of their products abroad.
Since foreign states have a special interest in them, they are under the tireless control of Western companies. The comprador bourgeoisie is often accused of betraying national interests among the people, since it undermines the country's economy and leads to its collapse. There is a fear that, due to this approach, this country may turn into a colony. In a word, the question "comprador, who is this" can not be expected a positive answer, because in the modern world they have a persistently negative coloration. Members of the comprador bourgeoisie are popularly called bureaucrats or oligarchs. They are accused of making money by selling local natural resources abroad, as well as trading in goods brought from abroad. These persons keep their funds in foreign banks. They are motivated by personal interests, and they are not at all worried about the state of the economy of the "native" country.
Comprador regime
This term is also quite often used in our reality. After we found out the answer to the question "comprador - who is it", let's figure out what features this mode has. It is established, as already mentioned, in backward and colonial countries. They create monopolies that act to the detriment of the national interests of a given country. The country receives income as a result of "sawing" of its own resources that are available in the reserve of this country. Today, many experts in the field of economics believe that in its purest form the comprador system was established precisely in the Russian Federation.