Beyond Mestizaje: Contemporary Debates on Race in Mexico

Racism has historically been a taboo topic in Mexico and is rarely publicly acknowledged or discussed. In response to the state project of mestizaje, many Mexicans are convinced that there is no racism in the country because everyone is racially mixed. This has changed in recent years and conceptualizations of race, the relationship between phenotypical traits and racialization, and the intersections between race, class, mestizaje, and capitalism have become matters of public and scholarly debate. This book brings these debates to English-speaking readers and includes at times conflicting views about how race should be conceptualized and measured and how its relationship to class should be analyzed. The volume includes contributions by scholars and activists from across disciplines and areas of expertise, ranging from cultural anthropologists, linguists, historians, quantitative sociologists, and economists.