Latin American governments move against long-entrenched racism

Source: Miami Herald

Posted on Sun, Jun. 17, 2007
Latin American governments move against long-entrenched racism
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com

ANAMA CITY -- Until recently, Latin American leaders treated racism as if it were someone else's problem. South American presidents in 2000 even issued a statement condemning its resurgence in ``other parts of the world.''

If Afro-Latin Americans were poorer and less educated than whites, and underrepresented in government or corporations, the thinking went, it was a problem of class, not skin color.
Then, a quiet but stunning U-turn.

Governments have not only stopped ignoring racism but are drafting anti-discrimination laws, negotiating a tough hemispheric agreement to deter racism despite U.S. skepticism, and counting the number of blacks in their midst -- all moves that activists say are needed to lift the veil of invisibility that has shrouded Afro-Latin Americans for centuries.
(snip)

And last year, the 34-member OAS began debating a Brazil-proposed convention ''combating racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance.'' Any violations could be taken up by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. The United States initially opposed the convention, saying that U.N. agreements already deal with the matter. U.S. officials now say they will evaluate the draft before declaring a final position.




Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/141134.html

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Does it seem odd to you that the _Bush administration is scorning Latin American attempts to overcome the deadly racial imbalance afflicting them? It strikes me as NONE OF BUSH'S BUSINESS.

Remember that gem?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/14/fox.jackson/index.html

... those Mexicans of Mayan and Aztec descent, in other words what Mexican society regards as the lowest castes in society