Is it possible to speak of a race pattern unique to Latin American nations'! The author first demonstrates the cogency of this question by exploring two themes common to the history of these countries' experiences in relations between whites and blacks. The first of these themes was ''whitening'', a national project enforced through selective miscegenation, settlement policies, and European immigration, while the second was ''racial democracy', the notion of national homogeneity that was disseminated and served to conceal existing racial and social divisions, thus constituting a powerful mechanism of social control. The author then examines the process by which these theories fell from grace. Special attention is paid to Brazil's most recent academic production, where the central theme has been the racist, discriminatory practices observed in health care, education, the labor market, spatial distribution, and social mobility, Although these studies represent major theoretical progress and form a valuable foundation for formulating public policies meant to reduce racial inequalities, the conclusion is that they must still incorporate less quantitative and more anthropological approaches, capable of revealing how racism is experienced both in ordinary, everyday life as well as in certain institutional and organizational contexts.
