20th Century Latin American Dictatorships: Constructing Color Through Economic Oppression

ByTalia Marash Political Science Major Carleton College

Race, as a concept, theoretically works to provide nations with boundaries and to mark off certain groups as “other”: a radical or color-based difference from a singular national definition of an “us.” The discrimination so widely associated with this invented term for identity takes a different context abroad, as a focus on color, religion, or ethnicity can lead to the same type of violent and discriminatory oppression. In this essay, the importance of the key themes of racial constructions, racial categories, and racial inequalities, and their power in defining and dividing societies are presented. Three Latin American leaders and their economic and social policies and direct and indirect relations with defining and limiting race are explored.

The first is the former President of Brazil. Getúlio Vargas ruled as a provisional, constitutional, and dictatorial leader from 1930 to 1946. Following that, Argentina under Juan Peron from 1946 to 1955 is analyzed, along with his abuse of government positions from his presidency to two periods of military dictatorship. The this is Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, who ruled Chile from 1974 to 1990 as president, appointee by a military junta, and eventually as de facto dictator. A key aspect of all these countries is the way that race was defined and prioritized, as different aspects of identity can work to oppress minority identities in different contexts. A wave of Latin American dictatorships through the mid-20th century amplified existing social and class-based racial hierarchies to further divide citizens and create a more powerful, “Whiter” idea of the aristocratic state.

A key link between these regimes, apart from geographical closeness, is the way they constructed and dictated racial standards to impose categories and exacerbate historical inequalities. Throughout this period, those in power constructed the national idea of an elite race to benefit themselves, leading to Whiteness as the ideal. These racial categories determined who benefited from the economic systems imposed by the state, and dictated a narrative that validated the racist practices of the totalitarian government. Another key link was the fact that they did not fully and explicitly oppress identities of color, instead narrowing the sphere in which people of color could find success through these economic categories, allowing them to present a sort of appeasement of the needs of people of color.

Under Getúlio Vargas’ regime, from 1930 to 1946, a quasi-totalitarian constitution was used to shut down Chile’s legislature, and efforts toward modernity were imposed in explicitly racist economic and social forms, as Blackness was seen as a conflict with White modernity, allowing White men to hold power and thus set the standard. With the constitution as the outline of these modernizing reforms, Vargas imposed economic standards through race and rid Brazil of traditional culture and identity. In cities, Vargas created zones of living based on economic ability, decreasing taxes on the wealthy to allow them to spend more on housing in nice parts of the city, inspired by European standards of physical class-zoning in large cities (Wade, 2009). By contrast, low-income communities, historically people of darker skin tones, were taxed relatively higher than others and did not have the means to move to nicer parts of the city (Bak, 1985).

This was deliberate, as the communities in which “Whiter,” wealthier people lived were also located closer to the centers of power, providing them with insight into the places where Vargas’s decisions were made (Telles, 2004). A lack of development in historically Black communities from state-funded projects further isolated these communities from the systems of power (Lesser, 1999). Vargas resided in the Catete Palace, an urban mansion in Rio de Janiero’s Flamengo neighborhood (Brazilian President Found Dead, 1954). Even now, this is a beachfront, middle- to upper-class neighborhood, with relics of its upper-class roots visible in the colonial architecture that was once inhabited by the beneficiaries of Vargas’s regime.

Vargas’s dislike of a native Brazilian identity, taking the form of disregard for and efforts against mixed social classes and his whitewashing of Brazilian history, were only emphasized in his efforts to rid the country of its traditions. Samba, specifically, became a focus (Hanchard, 1994). In working to incorporate “sanitized versions of popular culture,” Vargas instituted European ideals associated with the Estado Novo (the period under the new constitution, 1937–1945) definition of modernity (Wade, 2009, p. 124).

On a national level, Vargas also was staunchly opposed to immigration and to nonEuropean outsiders. In his constitution, he worked toward a Whites-only set of immigration policies to further validate the “brasilidade” identity he was campaigning for (Lesser, 1999). This idea of modernity defined the only valid demographic group as White men (women were inherently sexualized and deemed unfit for respectability). Understanding the economic and social systems under the Vargas regime and how they awarded power is essential to understanding the harsh color-based divides implemented to maintain power.

Juan Peron defined himself as a populist, focusing his work on the majority White bourgeoisie in his rise to power, and benefiting them and high-status White elites through his policy, quickly drawing connections between race and socioeconomic status in his military dictatorship. With Argentina seen as an ally of the United States on the Latin American front of the battle against socialism, a fear of the far left brought the country to the right as the military rule of Peronism destroyed the idea of a working class that was essential to class relations within the country (Munck, 1985).

Peron’s regime introduced a new type of fascism dependent fascism to Latin America. In this, there was an armed elite, a fascist movement separate from the fascist state, and a lack of any popular political movement (Munck, 1985). Through this group of armed elites, which amounted to the White community, acting under a leader who reflected their personal identity with absolute power, the regime furthered the racial standards of class relations. This form of fascism, coupled with Peron’s self-proclaimed populism, served the “popular” group of the White community who held political, economic, and social power. A reliance on social order and emphasis on economic stability to maintain these regimes was visible throughout the continent in this period but was especially intertwined with the government in Peron’s Argentina (Munck, 1985).

In ridding themselves of the middle class, Peron and his government worked to define the “other” away from his group of power on the basis of race. Specific language was used to differentiate others from Whites, as Blackness was defined by any presence of color, not just lack of Whiteness. The degradation of Blackness as an aspect of identity was so strong that White identity was inherently deemed null in its intersectional existence. In policy, “the term negro came to ambiguously signify poor, immigrant, black, and/or Amerindian while eluding an explicitly racial signification” (Ko, 2019, p. 1385). The reality behind these steps was that the military dictatorship wanted to alienate communities of color, depriving them of economic, social, and political power to fight against the systems that were built to oppress them. This fear of dark skin color, and of a statewide descent toward racial darkening, motivated work to create an ideal identity surrounding Whiteness. Immigration once again prioritized European Whites, with statewide restrictions on people from countries of color. When Black communities were given opportunities to immigrate, they were restricted to physical labor as a way of maintaining lower economic status for this group (Bastia, 2014). They also worked in subservient positions to high-status White elites. No space was provided for economic ascendance to Black communities within the limits of Peron’s White regime.

Pinochet’s regime used popular momentum and executive orders to impose an unspoken standard of Whiteness as a national identity, shaping the socio-economic policies that were the proclaimed focus of his dictatorship in the process. By centralizing healthcare in the state, militarizing everyday activities, and restricting the movements of those deemed a threat, Pinochet and his regime furthered existing racial stratification by purposefully subverting Black communities (Townsend, 2019). Pinochet further divided the state using standards of gender by sending “social workers to visit working-class and poor families to ensure that women maintained hygienic households and husbands did not abuse their wives or waste money on alcohol and gambling” (Townsend, 2019, p. 48). From there, the Pinochet regime’s imposition on the form of the family allowed for further divisions of intercultural identity groups, ranging from indigenous communities to Black communities, and anything else defined as non-White. Social workers’ involvement in the lives of poor families, traditionally families of color, also allowed for government oversight of groups that might oppose the regime. Although framed as a benefit to marginalized communities, Pinochet’s policy was created out of focused efforts to subvert competition and opposition among those it actively oppressed.

Before the rise of Pinochet, White identity was something that crossed class lines through inter-familial relations. After his ascent to power, the idea of strengthening the Chilean race through increased Whiteness stratified high-economic communities from their mixed-race pasts.

“Social reformers . . . promoted discourses of racial homogeneity,” before Pinochet’s slimming down of the definition of the Chilean race (Townsend, 2019, p. 47). The predominance of the patriarchal family structure in Chile allowed these reforms to be tied to family structures and “to create alliances across class lines, consolidate welfare states, and draw the working classes into citizenship” (Townsend, 2019, p. 47). However, Pinochet saw this mixing of class as a threat to his high-class group of leadership. Through the idea of “strengthening” an imagined Chilean race, Whiteness was put at the forefront of economic policy to benefit this demographic and purposefully subvert past efforts of racial harmony.

Pinochet encouraged violence through his populist propaganda, with colonial characteristics of the state reflecting a history of the racial patterns used to suppress opposition from the oppressed minority. In Chile’s past, “ideas about . . . race implied aspirations to North Atlantic whiteness and were refracted through the politics and policies of development,” (Townsend, 2019, p. 48). Economic policy created a two-tiered rural economy to differentiate and repress indigenous economic progress (Richards, 2013). In marginalizing the economy of people of color to rural locations, Pinochet created a physical barrier between indigenous success and his urban-centered regime. The larger state idea was that the good indigenous communities were those that integrated into the idea of urban Whiteness, something that had been equated to a central idea of Chile (Richards, 2013). Using the idea of White racial superiority but framing it as racial ambivalence around state policy allowed Pinochet to claim that class was the main social marker of the state. However, because economic policy was centered around the success of White leaders and their families, this economic policy was inextricably linked to a purposeful effort to subvert and degrade Black identity. These dictatorships, all economically and militarily supported by U.S. fear of socialism, were founded on the idealization of the White race and created provisions slightly benefitting but still oppressing people of color economically to quell disagreement with the White heads of state. Efforts to appease those communities of color were also similari between these regimes. They used propaganda to claim a color-blind stance that was belied by all their other policies and attitudes toward communities of color. By prioritizing the White economic and social experience and building economic success off communities of color while violently oppressing opposition, all these regimes reflected the identities of those who led them. This reality mirrored that of the United States, which was built on the enslavement of Black bodies. Centering the White experience as the broad experience of the state not only invalidated indigenous identities but further divided each state into race-based class systems.

Conclusion

The tensions presented by these dictatorships remain core to the political issues and ideologies of their states today. The current president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, comes from a military background and uses violent language to advocate for fewer covid-19 restrictions which affects communities of color the most in Brazil cultural assimilation for indigenous communities, and anti-same-sex marriage stances. His rhetoric reflects a history of violent language backed by military support to oppress already-marginalized identities and validate his personal beliefs in the name of a powerful right-wing government based on his preferred policies.

In Argentina, although it has evolved, Peronism and the tension between other ideologies remains a core political issue. With the current Justicialist Party, historical tensions between social justice, economic independence, and political sovereignty, things that drove Peron’s oppressive policies, are once again at play. In Chile, there is an extreme centralization of state power and policy in the current republic that is an evolution of the Pinochet dictatorship.

There are inherent contradictions between evolution out of a Spanish colonial past of

“caudillos,” or professional military leaders backed by troops, and the later rise of these dictatorships (Lynch, 1992). These more modern leaders’ claims to promote justice are fundamentally inaccurate, as both groups claim exceptional authority by way of force over a minority that they fear overpowering them. Although the caudillo faded from power in the 20th century, its foundations allowed for the growth of caudillismo, a precursor to the vacuum in colonial power that allowed for the rise of dictatorships. Oppressive policies toward people of color and centralized power in governments run by White men mark the political systems of these countries to this day. The deep-rooted legacy of oppression of communities of color through economic policy and social stratification has allowed for physically distant dictatorships to maintain fundamentally similar violent regimes.

Efforts to challenge oppressive economic policies in Latin America in the modern era are deeply intertwined with progressive and liberatory movements addressing historical injustices, particularly those related to race-based discrimination. Grassroots activism and community organizing inspired by movements such as Afro-Latinidad actively confront economic disparities faced by Afro-descendant communities (Presch & UnidosUS, 2022). These movements strive to dismantle systemic racism and economic injustices by advocating for fair wages, equal opportunities, and inclusive economic policies.

Policy advocacy plays a crucial role in addressing economic disparities in the region. Calls for equitable tax policies and wealth redistribution resonate with movements seeking to rectify historical injustices faced by indigenous and Afro-descendant populations. Recent discussions of affirmative action policies have also highlighted efforts to address the economic impact of historical discrimination.

Alternative economic models gain prominence as mechanisms to challenge traditional structures that perpetuate inequality. Cooperatives and community-owned enterprises, especially those led by marginalized groups, are emerging as powerful tools for economic empowerment. These models, such as the cooperative initiatives in Afro-descendant communities in Brazil, are aimed at reshaping economic power dynamics and fostering community self-sufficiency.

Education and awareness campaigns are essential to confronting race-based economic disparities. Organizations like the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme strive to dismantle the deep-rooted prejudices that contribute to economic inequities. By raising awareness of the intersections of racial and economic outcomes, these campaigns foster understanding and support for policies that address racial discrimination in the economic sphere.

Intersectional approaches in Latin America are critical given the complex interplay of race, class, and gender. Movements like the Haitian Bridge Alliance emphasize the unique obstacles faced by Afro-Latinx women in economic spheres and work towards policies that recognize and address these intersectional disparities (Manuel Jiménez, 2023). Online platforms and social media play crucial roles in connecting activists and sharing information among Latin American countries. Organizations like AfroResistance (n.d.) use digital spaces to mobilize support, amplify voices, and coordinate efforts to challenge oppressive economic policies rooted in racial discrimination.

Contemporary movements in Latin America, including Afro-Latinidad activism, advocacy for equitable policies, alternative economic models, education campaigns, and intersectional approaches, collectively contribute to the struggle against oppressive economic policies shaped by racial discrimination. By focusing on the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities in the region, these movements try to create more just and inclusive economic landscapes that address historical injustices related to race.

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