Afro-descendant Struggles for Collective Rights in Latin America: Between Race and Culture

Abstract

In recent years Afro-descendant social movements have won important collective rights from the state in many Latin American countries. In addition to certain collective rights to land and culture embedded in new multicultural citizenship regimes, in a few countries in the region Afro-descendants have also won specific anti-racial discrimination rights, such as affirmative action in education and employment. However, despite such important achievements, the basis of Afro-descendant collective rights remains a highly contested issue throughout the region. This article will explore the challenges that Afro-descendants face when trying to claim collective rights in Latin America, focusing specifically on the kinds of collective rights and modes of justification of such rights open to Afro-descendant movements in Latin America today.