Ahorita: a New Zealand exporter in Guadalajara
You are interpreter and cultural adviser for a New Zealand honey exporter in Guadalajara. The company wants a distribution agreement with Apícola Colmena, a family firm. Over three days, the Mexican director, Sr. Ruvalcaba, says «Ahorita lo vemos» when asked about the contract; «Claro, claro, sin problema» when asked to send the draft by Friday; and «Estamos para servirle» at the close. No draft arrives. Your Managing Director, who has flown 13 hours, drafts an email: 'We are disappointed. We need the signed contract by Wednesday or we walk.' She asks you to translate it 'exactly, so they know we're serious'. Earlier, the NZ team's pitch opened with «Nosotros somos los mejores», and the MD switched to «tú» with the 62-year-old director after two days. She flies out Thursday; the honey season opens in six weeks; the contract is worth NZ$480,000.
1. Explain what has gone wrong pragmatically, and assess whether Sr. Ruvalcaba has actually refused.
Read the worked answer
Nothing has been refused, and that is the problem to solve.
- «Ahorita lo vemos» is not a time commitment. In Mexican Spanish ahorita ranges from 'in a moment' to 'at some point' to a soft 'no', and its value is carried by tone and context, not by the word itself. Treating it as 'soon' created an expectation that was then broken.
- «Claro, claro, sin problema» is agreement at the level of the relationship - warmth, willingness to keep talking - not a promise about Friday. Phatic agreement and contractual agreement are different speech acts; the NZ team heard the second when the first was performed.
- «Estamos para servirle» closes a meeting politely. It is a formula of availability, not a delivery date.
- The MD contributed to the confusion. «Nosotros somos los mejores» is self-praise, which in a relationship-first pitch asks the counterpart to concede status before trust exists. Switching to «tú» after two days with a 62-year-old director is premature: in Mexican professional settings «usted» is the default until the older party offers otherwise. Both moves raise the stakes of the silence.
Has Sr. Ruvalcaba refused? No. There is no refusal, no counter-offer and no price discussion - which is itself diagnostic. Silence of this kind usually signals an unresolved internal issue (exclusivity, price, a family partner's objection, legal review), not a decision. But the NZ side has a real clock: six weeks and NZ$480,000. The correct action is neither to escalate nor simply to wait, but to open a low-cost, face-saving channel for the real objection - and to stop explaining the episode as 'Mexican time', which would let a stereotype do work that evidence should do.
2. Rewrite the MD's email in Spanish (120–160 words) so that it preserves the deadline and the seriousness without reproducing the threat. Justify three specific choices.
Read the worked answer
«Estimado ingeniero Ruvalcaba:
Le escribo desde Auckland para agradecerle la hospitalidad de estos días. Antes de que nuestra directora regrese el jueves, quisiera confirmar con usted el calendario que conversamos. Como la temporada de miel empieza en seis semanas, nos ayudaría mucho recibir el borrador del contrato antes del miércoles; así podríamos revisarlo con nuestros abogados y responderle con comentarios concretos.
Entendemos que su equipo quizá necesite revisar puntos de exclusividad o de precios. Si hay alguna condición que no le acomode, ¿le parecería bien que habláramos el martes por la mañana? Preferimos escuchar sus observaciones antes de proponer alternativas.
Quedo a su disposición y le agradezco de antemano su atención.
Un cordial saludo, [Name]»
Three choices, and why:
- «Estimado ingeniero» plus usted throughout. This repairs the premature «tú» without an apology that would make the earlier move the topic. In Mexican professional correspondence the title carries more weight than the first name, and switching back reads as respect, not retreat.
- «Nos ayudaría mucho» - conditional, not «necesitamos». The deadline becomes a request for help, protecting the counterpart's negative face while still naming Wednesday. The six-week season does the work of the threat; the email never says 'or we walk'.
- «¿Le parecería bien que habláramos…?» - an explicit, low-cost slot for the objection. This is the diagnostic move: it invites him to say what is actually blocking the draft, which a demand for signature cannot do.
What I would not send is «Estamos decepcionados» as an opening. It is a complaint, and in this register a complaint obliges a defence; the likely reply is a formal withdrawal dressed as politeness. If Tuesday passes with no answer, escalation remains available - and it will be more credible after a message that gave him a way to say yes.
3. The MD asks whether she should switch back to «usted» for the rest of the visit. Advise her.
Read the worked answer
Switch back, do it quietly, and change the pitch as well as the pronoun.
- Repair, don't confess. A light «Volvamos al usted, ingeniero, que me emocioné» does the work; a long apology makes the earlier slip the topic of the meeting.
- Default to «usted» plus title for the rest of the visit unless he invites «tutéame». In Mexico, usted persists well beyond first acquaintance among professionals, and age matters here: he is 62, she is the buyer but also the younger party and the guest.
- The pronoun is not the real problem; the pitch is. Replace «somos los mejores» with evidence and questions: «¿Qué necesita su empresa para poder decidir?», «¿Qué le preocupa del acuerdo?». A counterpart who has been asked about his concerns can raise price without losing face; one who has been told he is dealing with the best must either agree or withdraw.
- Coach the exit as well. If she leaves Thursday without a signature, the aim is an agreed next step in writing, not a win: a named contact, a date and a short list of open points is a better outcome than a pressured signature from a family firm that has not yet consulted its partners.