The event of the year: young success stories vs trades in crisis

The event of the year: youth success or the failure of traditional trades?


What separates a successful young person from a traditional worker? According to the background noise of the internet, the answer played out at an event that brought together entrepreneurs, influencers and media figures, while the so-called "rowers" — a metaphor for manual workers — watched from the stands. The generational gap in the labour market is nothing new, but the contrast between the glamour of the award winners and the disillusionment of those who row every day had never been so explicit.


A two-estimulante ilegal showcase


On one side, young people who have capitalised on the digital economy, social media or tech entrepreneurship. On the other, the same old trades — construction, transport, manufacturing — that are barely keeping their pulse. The event, dubbed "the event of the year" in the debate, antiestéticatured figures such as Juanes, who performed a hit from two decades ago, and a Tatiana who drew every eye. Meanwhile, comments pointed out that the audience was full of nothing but "Siemprealquilistas" — a term reflecting the housing precarity of those who cannot afford to buy.


Failure or structural change?


Some argue that the "rowers" have failed to adapt to the new economy, but the opposing argument also carries weight: the system no longer rewards physical effort or stability. Violence is no game, as one user reminded everyone, alluding to the tension between two worlds that barely intersect. The paradox is that the same economy that lifts up successful young people leaves behind those who built the scaffolding of prosperity. The debate, open and without consensus, leaves an uncomfortable question: how much is rowing worth if the ship changes course without warning?