With racism re-emerging as one of the bigger problems in the post-globalization era, let’s have a look at the most racist countries in Latin America. Racism is a problem that has existed for decades and it does not appear to be going away anytime soon. Despite neo-liberalization and globalization, race remains an important marker of a person’s identity, and a cause of contention. The US may have moved on from the Civil Rights Movement era discrimination, but recent Black Lives Matter movement suggests that the issue if far from over and that it requires attention.
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With Trump’s ascend to the American presidency, racism against Muslims and Mexicans has grown, or perhaps been brought to the fore. Yet, America is not the only country that suffers from the epidemic. Latin Americans, who themselves are a victim of racism, involve themselves in racist practices. Legal discrimination on the basis of race may have ended in most parts of the world, including Latin America, but social racism continues. Dark skin, even in the 21st century, is seen as being inferior in some parts of the world. People do not want to see dark or non-white people on their TV screens, which became an issue recently with the social media outcry using the hashtag #OscarSoWhite.
It is not only Hollywood or the US, for that matter, that has been affected by the racism. Even people that are discriminated against often end up discriminating against individuals from other races. Researchers have argued this may be because of an innate fear of the ‘other’ which is considered as being unknown, mysterious and at times, threatening. However, we know that racism, even if innate, is easy to counter as there are nations and regions of the world that have successfully been able to shun racism. It is interesting to note that 4 Latin American nations make it to the list of 13 Least Racist Countries in the World, thereby making it one of the least racist regions. On the other hand, if Latin America is not your area of interest, you might want to head on over to the 10 Most Racist Countries in Asia.
In finding out about the most racist countries in Latin America, we have looked at the World Values Survey report which contains data until 2014. The survey uses data from around 60 countries, asking for respondents’ opinions on several matters. We have looked at whether respondents in a particular country are okay with neighbors of a different race and have filtered out for Latin American nations which were a part of the survey to come up with the list of most racist countries in Latin America.
7. Brazil
Brazil may not be one of the most racist countries in the world, but Latin America being generally accepting towards people of other races brings it to the list of most racist countries in the region. 1.9% of Brazilian respondents reported that they would not like a neighbor of a different race.
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6. Colombia
Infamous as the land of drugs and gangs, racism in the country has become an issue as well, and needs to be tackled quickly to mitigate the effects of such mindsets.
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5. Chile
Discrimination against immigrants has repeatedly been reported in Chile which is reflected in World Values Survey report with as many as 5.6% of Chileans not wanting to have a neighbor from a different race.
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4. Haiti
Haitians have had a difficult history with racism and slavery and as it turns out, a small chunk of their population continues to find it difficult to shun racism, making it the 4th most racist nation in Latin America.
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3. Peru
Despite being a multi-ethnic country with large native and mixed-race populations, Peru is one of the most racist countries in Latin America.
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2. Mexico
Even though being victims themselves of racism in the neighboring US, 10.2% of Mexican respondents had a problem with a neighbor of a different race. In fact, a book published last year delves into the problem of racism in Mexico with its author choosing to begin with the words “Mexico is a racist country”.
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1. Ecuador
Ecuador tops our ranking of the 7 most racist countries in Latin America with a whopping 34.5% of respondents claiming they would not want to live with a neighbor of a different race. It is by far the most racist country considering only 10.2% of Mexicans (which take the second spot) consider neighbors of other race a problem.
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