RACE AS A TOOL FOR POLiTiCAL POWER iNCOLOMBiA AND MEXiCO

Introduction:

This essay examines how elites in Colombia and Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries used race to garner support from the masses and further their political purposes. However, these elites remained highly racist.

Context：

Race and politics have always been intertwined in the history of Latin America. During the Independence Wars, leaders used discourses on race and equality to unite subalterns against the Spaniards, resulting in a new political order. This essay will explore the intersection of race and politics in a much later period – more specifically the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The governments of Latin America used race as a tool to advance their political purposes such as maintaining power and promoting the idea of a unified nation. However, the proponents of these ideas remained highly racist. This essay will proceed as follows. First, it will explore how Liberals in Colombia used race to remain in power. Second, it will analyze how the Mexican government used discourses on mestizaje to unify the nation. Third, it will elaborate on how the advocates of these ideas remained racist...

RACE AS A TOOL FOR POLiTiCAL POWER iN COLOMBiA AND MEXiCO

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Author: Fabiola Cruz Li