Latin America is considered a discriminatory society. This is not surprising given the ethnic and class conflict in the region.  Latin America comprises has the largest number of blacks outside Africa. Though these societies may look color blind on the surface, race actually dominates every aspect of social, economic and political life and still exists to date even in countries that indigenous make up the majority (Dijk, 2009). Racism in Latin America has existed this long since it was denied. In this paper, we will find out the impact of racism in social, economic and political development in Latin America.

Race greatly affects social life in Latin America, people were and are partially still divided according to place of birth. At the top were the Peninsulares followed by Creoles and then Mulattoes. At the bottom were the Africans/ natives who came in as slaves. This helped the Europeans maintain their colonies and govern them. Due to these social structures that still exist, there has been much unrests and protests in these American countries. Societies are greatly divided by the social status and hence little interaction among the people exists (Dijk, 2009).  The country with much racism in Latin America is Peru. Tension between black people and East Indian people is very high. This spread of racism from one generation to another has prevented good interaction and cultural exchange between different racial groups.  People do not share many institutions. Certain groups of people are oppressed especially blacks and are living in very poor conditions. This has led to many protests which are considered important since they bring people together.

Some governments have taken action to improving living conditions and help bring people together by use of technology like in Costa Rica where educated people use social media that encourage civic engagement and have helped the indigenous and marginalized groups.  This is slowly improving social life in Latin America (Dijk, 2009).

Racism has also had economic impact. The region’s economy has greatly grown due to the hard work of the people who provide cheap labor since the colonial times. Goods and products produced and manufactured have great demand thereby bringing in revenue to support the economy (Dijk, 2009).  Though growth is experienced by these countries, the marginalized still suffer. They experience hardships as they work a lot but receive low wages from the rich who control the economy and are living in poor conditions. The poor cannot get good jobs since they have little or no education.  The gap between the rich and the poor is big. People suffering are many compared to those living in good conditions as seen in a country like Peru. The poor also get little or no education and this slows down the economic growth. The government should focus on improving lives and providing education to each and every person will fasten the growth of the economy in the region.

Race plays a big role in the politics of Latin America. Inequality makes a political difference in Latin America is much more problematic. Due to the highly unequal societies, chances for democracy are slim. Democracy can never be experienced in a divided nation. This is because each racial group will always be supporting their own no matter how bad or good one is. The poor advocate for wealth redistribution but the rich are against this. This further divides the people as each person wants to protect their own (Dijk, 2009). The whites in countries like Peru are controlling the countries politics and the marginalized are not represented in the government. Though some governments are gradually changing and bringing in democracy, inequality is greatly seen in Latin America politics due to race differences. The high in the social class still control the politics till now. Race has greatly shaped the political arena.

Social, economic and politics of Latin America has been shaped by racial differences that were put in place in the beginning. Race and class have always worked together to shape the Americas. This leads to control of the economy since they are the most powerful and own much.

Work Cited

Dijk, Teun A. Racism and Discourse in Latin America. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Print.

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