my headcanons about the Burromuerto family's high expectations (and how they shape Alejandro):
Something I've seen before is the idea that Alejandro's family expects him to win Total Drama and would be heavily disappointed or even ashamed by failure. I don't think this is "wrong;" in fact I think canon supports a goofy take on his family that this would work great with this. But with a more grounded characterization, especially one with angst, I think the opposite would happen. His father's a diplomat; he would be disappointed that his son starred in a trashy reality show and ashamed of his "villainous" behavior on said show.
Now, don't get me wrong: the Burromuertos put a lot of pressure on their kids. Good grades, plentiful extracurriculars, leadership positions, athletic prowess; their family is full of people who are talented and successful in myriad ways, and they expect their kids to be just as successful. But if, say, Alejandro was a horrible athlete (or just hated sports), they wouldn't be particularly upset - their priorities and expectations would just change. As long as their kids are striving towards worthy goals, they're happy.
But this apparent leniency is an albatross around Alejandro's neck, because he doesn't know who he is or who he wants to be, what he wants to do, and it makes him feel like a failure, even as he succeeds beyond his parents' measurable expectations. Is his academic success, his athletic success, worth anything if it's not working towards something valuable? Alejandro wants to "succeed," wants it more than anything else, but that's meaningless on its own, in the eyes of his parents.
Carlos is a professional soccer player, insanely talented and in the height of his career. He's six years older than Alejandro. In a lot of ways Carlos was an "underachiever." He struggled to keep up in school, struggled to socially acclimate when his family moved, had little interest in politics and the circles his family moved in. But he was driven as an athlete - he loved soccer and trained harder than any other player on every team he ever played on. He knew from a young age who he wanted to be, and he worked to succeed at it.
Once Carlos was about 12, and his parents realized he was truly devoted and had the chops for a professional sports career, they loosened their academic expectations on him. They'd already invested plenty of money into top-tier training camps and premiere teams, but now they did even more so; he gained a personal trainer and spent summers training with some of the best teen soccer players in the world. They're incredibly proud of him not just for his success, but because of his passion and drive. Alejandro looks up to him for the same reasons (and sees him as a good, if distant brother).
José is a year older than Alejandro, and this closeness in age has always impacted their relationship, mostly for the worse. They've been compared their whole lives, and while a year might not seem like much time, it's a huge gap when you're young. José's earlier successes made Alejandro feel like a failure from an early age; he was never quite good enough.
Their parents didn't shame Alejandro for not keeping up with José, but they also didn't do nearly enough to support Alejandro emotionally relating to this (and in general; his family overlooks emotional and mental health struggles almost entirely). They've always been competitive, seeing each other as rivals. José's bullying of Alejandro often went too far when they were younger, but in the present they're a bit more equal, pranking and insulting and fighting with each other, although José is often still too vicious and usually the instigator. (Their parents hate and discourage this behavior from both of them, but don't address the cause.)
Alejandro sees José as the "Always Someone Better" of his life. Alejandro's a good student, but so is José, and he barely studies. Alejandro's a good athlete - better than José, even! - but José's captain of the soccer team; José's a leader. Alejandro has good social skills, has friends, but they're "school friends," or "sports team friends;" he doesn't hang out with them very often outside of their shared activities. José has a huge annoying popular friend group that hangs out all the time - going to parties, to the mall, getting into trouble, and they even campaigned for him to be Homecoming King the same year the Burromuertos moved to Canada. It takes almost no time at all for José to socially acclimate to wherever he is; to Alejandro, it feels like the world shifts to be around him.
Carlos is somebody, José is somebody; who is Alejandro? What does he like? What does he want out of life? He doesn't know. And his parents don't know, either. They love him, as they do all of their kids, but deep down, they're prouder of Carlos, fonder of José, because they recognize them as independent, driven people with their own goals for life. (At least, in Alejandro’s mind they do.) Alejandro doesn't have any goals beyond living up to their expectations - all Alejandro does is everything they could ever ask of him, and nothing for himself.
Alejandro and José signed up for Total Drama together, competing for who would be cast, and did so behind their parents' backs. Doing so was an act of teenage rebellion, especially for Alejandro, who normally puts too much stock into his parents' metrics of success and proper behavior, far more than José. Their parents were upset when Alejandro was cast, which he expected, but Alejandro was thrilled because he knew Total Drama was the place where he could be the best, where he could be somebody. A person beyond his parents' expectations. He knew he could win - he already beat José! He already competed in his life like it was Total Drama, and defeated every task; doing it against a bunch of morons? He's a Burromuerto; he'll succeed at whatever he puts his mind to. (He has to. Or he'll destroy himself trying.)
