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C H A P T E R F O U R Black Politics in Latin America An Analysis of National and Transnational Politics OLLIE A. JOHNSON III Introduction IN THE LAST 25 YEARS, scholars have made significant contributions to our understanding of race and ethnicity and, more specifically, of Black populations in Latin America. Most of these books and articles have come from historians (Andrews 2004; Appelbaum, Macpherson, and Rosemblatt 2003; Davis 1995a), anthropologists (Wade 1993, 1997; Whitten and Torres 1998; Yelvington 2001), and sociologists (Hasenbalg 1986; Twine 1998; Winant 2001). As a result, we have a better sense of the central roles that Africans and their descendants have played in shaping Latin America. Contemporary Latin American religion, cuisine , music, style, language, and social relations all bear the marks of African influence . However, in the area of government and politics, intellectuals have paid far too little attention to Afro-Latin American movements, organizations, and struggles for justice, equality, and democracy.1 For example, in Utopia Unarmed: The Latin American Left after the Cold War (1993), Mexican political scientist Jorge G. Castañeda argues that the post–cold war period represented a great opportunity for the Latin American Left to influence the direction of social and political change. He maintains that the economic crises and processes of democratization opened political space throughout the region for leftist policies that could promote economic growth and reduce inequality. Like most progressives, Castañeda identifies poverty and social inequality as the key problems to be overcome. Unfortunately, he fails to examine how these fundamental problems are directly related to race and ethnicity. Castañeda is hardly the only political scientist to ignore Afro-Latin American political activity. Centrist, conservative, and other leftist political scientists who study Latin America have also neglected this area of inquiry. Scholars must investigate Blacks in Latin America as political actors to increase our understanding of Latin American politics. A few political scientists such as Hanchard (1994), Nobles (2000), and Thorne (2003) are beginning to join historians, anthropologists, and sociologists in highlighting the roles of Blacks in Latin America . These scholars are following the initiatives of Afro-Latin American intellectuals and activists (Fontaine 1980; Moore 1989; Mosquera 2000; Nascimento 1978; 1982) who have been condemning pervasive racial inequality and discrimination and documenting Black political action for decades. In this tradition, this chapter examines Black political participation in several Latin American countries and discusses the development of Black transnational advocacy networks in the Americas. I conclude by highlighting ongoing Black political activity in the Americas. In the last two decades, Black Latin Americans have made progress in publicizing their political agendas. Black groups have become more politically active. This progress has highlighted several challenges for Black political struggle that vary by country and often within countries. First, after Blacks gain government recognition and formal support for specific public policies, the crucial question becomes how to implement those policies, laws, and programs. Frequently, policy implementation does not follow policy formulation. Second, Blacks are divided by various political, economic, social and cultural cleavages. One of the most important is the ideological debate over autonomy. Should Blacks work primarily within their own communities to build strong organizations, movements, and identities? Or should Blacks struggle primarily in alliance with sympathetic White, Mestizo, and Indigenous groups to improve their socioeconomic and political conditions? Generally, Afro-Latin Americans have pursued both strategies. Third, political context greatly shapes Black political activity in Latin America. Socialist revolution in Cuba and civil war in Colombia are two clear examples of major events and processes impacting the evolution of Black politics. Where Are Blacks in Latin America? Questions of Identity and Visibility People of African ancestry represent approximately 30 percent of the more than 500 million Latin Americans (Minority Rights Group 1995; Race Report 2003, 1–2; Rout 1976). Most Latin American governments have not attempted to count the number of Blacks or African descendants as part of their regular censuses. This failure has created a situation of official invisibility for Blacks in many government reports, studies, and policies. Some argue that Latin American population groups have mixed so much over the years that categorizing them by race or ethnicity would be impossible or extremely difficult to do accurately. Other scholars have argued that race and ethnicity are of limited relevance in Latin America because these group identities are weak and rarely politically relevant. In contrast, Black Latin American leaders generally state that race...

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