{"id":6415,"date":"2017-12-16T12:12:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-16T17:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6415"},"modified":"2019-01-20T09:29:41","modified_gmt":"2019-01-20T14:29:41","slug":"study-reveals-racial-inequality-in-mexico-disproving-its-race-blind-rhetoric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinamericasecurityreport.com\/?p=6415","title":{"rendered":"Study Reveals Racial Inequality in Mexico, Disproving Its \u2018Race-Blind\u2019 Rhetoric"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Only 5 percent of agricultural workers in Mexico are white, while almost 30 percent of white-collar workers are. That\u2019s just one stat confirming that, yes, racism exists in Mexico, too. Carlos Jasso\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For centuries, the United States has been engaged in a thorny, stop-and-go conversation about race and inequality<\/a> in American society. And from Black Lives Matter demonstrations<\/a> to NFL players protesting police violence<\/a>, public discussions on racism continue in full force today.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the case in Mexico. Mexicans have divergent ancestry, including Spanish, African, indigenous and German. And while skin color in Mexico ranges from white to black<\/a>, most people \u2013 53 percent<\/a> \u2013 identify as mestizo, or mixed race.<\/p>\n

In Mexico, inequality, though rampant<\/a>, has long been viewed as a problem related to ethnicity or socioeconomic status, not race.<\/p>\n

Our new report suggests that assumption is wrong. Published in November, \u201cIs Mexico a Post-Racial Country?\u201d<\/a> reveals that in Mexico darker skin is strongly associated with decreased wealth and less schooling. Indeed, race is the single most important determinant of a Mexican citizen\u2019s economic and educational attainment, our results show.<\/p>\n

Unequal in every way<\/strong><\/p>\n

The study, published last month by the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt University<\/a>, or LAPOP, drew on data from the university\u2019s Americas Barometer, a poll of 34 nations across North, Central and South America, as well the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

To capture information on race, which is often not reflected in Latin American census data<\/a>, the pollsters themselves categorized respondents\u2019 face skin tone on a standardized<\/a> 11-point scale that ranges from darkest to lightest.<\/p>\n

We were fascinated to see that the Mexico data clearly showed people with white skin completing more years of schooling than those with browner skin \u2013 10 years versus 6.5. That\u2019s a stunning 45 percent gap in educational achievement between the darkest- and lightest-skinned Mexicans.<\/p>\n