Discrimination in Latin America (original) (raw)

Horizontal inequality and ethnic discrimination in four Latin American countries

CEPAL Review, 2019

This article analyses ethnic discrimination in Mexico relative to Chile, Colombia and Peru from a perspective of horizontal inequality. It presents the numerous ways in which such discrimination is perpetuated and shows how far back in history segregation reaches, having taken root in the period of conquest by European nations before becoming entrenched in the colonial era and institutionalized in the constitutions that gave rise to the Latin American republics and in the formal and informal institutions shaped since then. Notwithstanding progress with recognition of political, social, cultural, collective and territorial rights and the creation of institutions to implement anti-discrimination policies, there is a large and enduring social debt. This article also identifies some divides and, by way of policy implications, suggests certain measures for closing them.

Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean

2008

All rights reserved 1 2 3 4 12 11 10 09 A copublication of The World Bank and Palgrave Macmillan. Latin American Development Forum Series This series was created in 2003 to promote debate, disseminate information and analysis, and convey the excitement and complexity of the most topical issues in economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the World Bank. The manuscripts chosen for publication represent the highest quality in each institution's research and activity output and have been selected for their relevance to the academic community, policy makers, researchers, and interested readers.

A Region in Denial: Racial Discrimination and Racism in Latin America

Racism (and racial discrimination) is, to a certain extent, alive and well in every society, country and region of the world. 1 It can appear in a variety of forms depending on the culture or context in which it occurs and the period of history during which it rears its head.

Different lives: inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

Inequality in Latin America: Breaking with History, 2004

This chapter summarizes information on inequality in living standards in Latin American and Caribbean countries. To that aim we work with a sample of more than 50 household surveys from 20 LAC countries from 1989 to 2001, and we survey results from other authors. Although the core of the statistics are on household income inequality, the study also presents information by country/year on inequality in the distribution of earnings, hourly wages, hours worked, employment, unemployment, child labor, non-labor income, education, literacy, school enrollment, household size, housing, land ownership, social services, health status and services, political representation and crime victimization. ** Additionally, we report results on aggregate welfare and other dimensions of social justice, beyond inequality: polarization, mobility, and poverty. From the results reported in this chapter LAC emerges today as a very unequal region, (i) in comparison to other regions, (ii) in comparison to LAC in previous decades, and (iii) in terms of the potential gains in aggregate welfare that can be achieved with a more equal distribution.

The impact of inequality in Latin America

America and other developing regions should focus not only on eliminating poverty and deprivation but also on preventing and reducing inequality. By inequality we refer not only to differences in income or consumption between population groups but also to divergences in the access to social and political rights (education, health care, voting, and so on). Although conceptually related, poverty and inequality are two distinct phenomena and it is possible that falls in poverty may be accompanied by increases in inequality and vice-versa. In fact, many Latin America countries have experienced the former in recent years. In the long-term, however, persistent inequalities as those observed in the Latin America region will undermine efforts to reduce poverty and destitution due to the emergence of poverty traps caused by the impossibility of economic and social mobility of certain population groups. This will have important consequences for the challenge of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty worldwide by 2015. In addition, persistently high inequalities will also impact negatively on crucial economic, social and political variables and will thus seriously undermine the success of any development strategies.

Fifteen Years of Inequality in Latin America: How have Labor Markets Helped?

Policy Research Working Papers, 2013

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.