In Bolivia, followers of the political movement MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo) were known as masistas. Politically, the masistas are socialists.
Little by little, the expression changed, from a political definition to a derogatory term that encompasses several meanings, referring to someone who has no values, no morals or decency.
The term masista is today an insult directed at the person prone to corruption and dishonest acts, who seeks the opportunity to commit a crime and take advantage of others.
Masista is, then, synonymous with thief, fraudulent, corrupt, narco, and ignorant, someone who is ashamed, of little intelligence, mediocre, ignorant, dishonest and without values.
In addition, it is said of someone who has an aggressive ignorance, low intellect, intolerant, daring who later becomes victimized, without educational training, indoctrinated, a parasite of society and others. It also spreads to a person who does not bathe often and smells bad.
Origin of the term “masista”
Juan Evo Morales Ayma was president of Bolivia from 2006 to November 2019, after presenting his resignation.
Morales, politician, trade unionist, activist and leader, seeking the presidency in 1997, needed a party already registered; the Confederation of Workers of the Cochabambino Tropic led by him decided to merge with the Movement for Socialism (MAS).
The followers of MAS were called masistas. The use of the term was evolving and currently, one of the worst insults that can exist in Bolivia is “masista”.
Some examples of its use: “How are you not going to use a mask! You are a masista! ”. “The doctor hid so much corruption in the entity that she ended up being a masista.” “If you believe that the earth revolves around the moon, you are ignorant, a masista.”
A masista is similar, in part, to a “chairo” in Mexico and parts of Central America.
Social media users in Mexico and Central America use the word chairo to refer disparagingly to left-wing activists.
It is an offensive noun and adjective. The Mexican Dictionary of Spanish defines a chairo as a “person who defends social and political causes against the ideologies of the right, but who is attributed a lack of true commitment to what he claims to defend; person who is self-satisfied with their attitudes ”. The chairos are attributed several of the negative characteristics of the masistas.