Inflections of Anti-Racism in Latin America

Dr. Mónica Moreno Figueroa, University of Cambridge and

Prof. Peter Wade, University of Manchester

This lecture took place on 9 April 2021 as part of the CEDLA Lecture Series.

There has been an incipient turn to antiracism in Latin America. In our research project ‘Latin American Anti-racism in a 'Post-Racial' Age’ (LAPORA) we are looking at different styles of antiracist activity in four countries: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. One of our key findings is the variation in how different organisations understand and use the language of racism and antiracism to define or organise their activities. There are different grammars of antiracism, some explicit some alternative. What could the antiracist effects of these ‘alternative grammars’ of struggle be? Explicit naming of racism per se is not necessarily a sign of advancing antiracist work, however strategic language and awareness of structural racism have distinct advantages for antiracist practice.