After first examining the US experience with affirmative action policies (aimed at education, housing, leisure, and the job market), the article looks at what occurs in Latin American countries, where race relation systems are more like Brazil’s, that is, characterized by more fluid, individually manipulable ethnic boundaries. The region has seen relatively few attempts to fight race discrimination via legislative means, and very few published studies analyze these attempts. The article pays special attention to Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru. This brief comparative analysis is followed by thoughts on some of Brazil’s experiences, focusing particularly on State actions regarding race relations and, more recently, on the social condition of blacks.
racism; blacks; politics; State; Latin America