On the Sociology of Latin America

In this introductory chapter, we develop a brief history around the institutionalization process of sociology in Latin America. At the same time, we revisit some of the core debates and contributions of the sociology of Latin America, identifying some of the topics and fields in which sociology from this region has made key contributions to the discipline. The chapter is divided into three sections: development and institutionalization of the discipline, selected debates and contributions to sociology from Latin America, and, finally, the roadmap to this Handbook, which covers eight research fields.

Privilege Accumulation Among Upper Middle-Class Youth in Mexico

This chapter demonstrates how upper middle-class Mexican families mobilize a vast array of social, cultural, and economic resources to expand their children’s opportunities in life and ensure the intergenerational transmission of their social position. The authors analyze salient characteristics of families’ socioeconomic and demographics in the life histories of a group of young Mexicans from an upper middle-class background. Many believe that micro-social processes, especially surrounding education, are key to understanding how upper-class families mobilize their various resources to shape their children’s life trajectories. These families accumulate social advantages over time that accrue to their progeny and benefit them upon their entrance to the labor market.

Ideological Inversion and the (De)legitimation of Neoliberalism in Chile

Using a mixed-methods approach based on discussion focus groups and panel surveys of the Longitudinal Social Study of Chile, this chapter demonstrates that Chilean’s neoliberal economic order is not legitimized by the vast majority of the population. Instead, the author argues that social norms are in serious conflict with the prevailing socioeconomic order. Within Chilean society, both citizens and social analysts are prone to agree with the existence of a “neoliberal consensus” due to the strategic adaptation of social practices that take place within a socioeconomic order that most individuals accept as a given. As a consequence, a “fantasy consensus” emerges in Chilean society in order to stabilize the social economic order, thus avoiding collective mobilization and social change. In this scenario, the protest waves that Chilean society has faced since 2011 offer additional proof that the “fantasy consensus” has experienced serious fissures, thus opening a window of opportunity to delegitimize Chile’s neoliberal order in the country.

Patterns of Social Inclusion and Exclusion Among Youth Living in Stigmatized Neighborhoods

This chapter is an ethnographic case study of the social integration trajectories of youth living in two stigmatized and poor neighborhoods in Montevideo. It explains the linkages between residential segregation and social inclusion and exclusion patterns in unequal urban neighborhoods. Most empirical neighborhood research on the effects of residential segregation in contexts of high poverty and extreme stigmatization have focused on its negative effects. However, the real mechanisms and mediations influencing the so-called neighborhood effects of residential segregation are still not well understood. Scholars have yet to isolate specific neighborhood effects and their contribution to processes of social inclusion and exclusion. Focusing on the biographical experiences of youth in marginalized neighborhoods, this ethnography demonstrates the relevance of social mediations that modulate both positive and negative residential segregation effects.

Differences, Inequalities, and Labor Markets in Latin America

This chapter attempts to explain the persistence of inequalities in labor markets in Latin America. The author argues that the causes should be sought not only in class asymmetries, but also in sociocultural factors work. When differences of various types (sex, culture, phenotype, place, etc.) are processed through inferiorization, they become inequalities (gender, ethnic, racial, territorial, etc.). In this way categorical pairs are constituted that match class inequalities by reinforcing them through various mechanisms: primary and secondary segregation and discrimination. Depending on the processing logic in force at the time in a given society, differences can lead to either inequality or equality.

Social Violence and Privilege

This chapter examines various strategies deployed by El Salvador’s upper middle classes to contend with social violence and also addresses their role in configuring their nation’s persistent social inequalities. Specifically, it analyzes the way in which practices and representations associated with these strategies for dealing with violence contribute to creating a social distance between the upper middle class and the lower classes. El Salvador is characterized by persistent and profound inequality, and high levels of social violence and poverty. The approach considers the sociocultural practices associated with the reproduction of social inequalities.

Inequality, Social Mobility, and Racism in Bolivia

Using Bolivia as a case study, this contribution discusses the relationship between racism and social inequality in Latin America. It establishes the role of ethnic and racial categories in the construction of imaginary borders that hinder social mobility among disadvantaged populations. Poverty in Latin America certainly affects the indigenous, Afro-descendants, and mestizos; indeed, the highest poverty indexes are still disproportionately concentrated among indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. These communities usually occupy manual labor positions with low remuneration and high degrees of informalization, while high-skilled, nonmanual positions with higher remuneration and power are concentrated in different communities. This pattern of poverty concentration has not significantly changed in countries, such as Bolivia, with large indigenous populations. In the past few decades, the social policies of progressive governments in Bolivia have managed to reduce extreme poverty at the macroeconomic level; however, these policies have had little effect on reducing social inequality gaps. Moreover, these progressive policies have yet to significantly reduce the entrenched racism that allows for Bolivian social inequalities to persist.

The Sociology of Inequality in Latin America

The study of social inequality has been one of the main topics of Latin American sociology since the second half of the twentieth century. It is possible to organize the academic trajectory of this field into three periods. During the first developmental phase, the research was inspired by comprehensive theoretical frameworks such as modernization theory, dependency theory, and structuralist-development theory; the historical-structural approach constituted the hegemonic analytical model. In a second period, the sociological approach was relegated to the background as the study of poverty and income distribution came to the fore. This shift owed as much to major economic and social changes that the region experienced as to the waning of the historical-structural paradigm. Finally, the sociological approach has gained renewed prominence in light of the changes that have occurred in the region at the end of the past century and the first two decades of the present one. During this period, Latin American sociology of inequality becomes more multifaceted and its theoretical approaches more complex as it incorporates new analytical perspectives to problematize the persistence and reconstitution of social inequality patterns in the region.

Arming the Americas

American countries and cities are among the world’s most prone to gun-related violence. In 2017, the regional homicide rate hovered at 17.2 per 100,000 people, as compared to a global average of closer to 6.1 per 100,000. Rates in Central and South America are over 24 per 100,000 population. Just four countries—Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela—accounted for a quarter of all global gun-related deaths. Firearms on their own are not the cause of homicide or violent crime, but their abundance dramatically increases the risk of a lethal outcome. The sheer diversity and scale of arms and ammunition moving into Latin America constitutes a serious policy challenge. This chapter focuses on the normative dimensions of arms control and emphasizes the salient policy angles, including the necessity of additional border and custom controls, oversight of local arms production, and better controls and management of military, police, and private security arsenals. To responsibly control the problem, Latin America needs better enforcement of existing laws.

Inequality and Social Justice in Latin America

Drawing on focus group research, this study analyzes the perceptions and opinions on class inequality, social justice, and social mobility expressed by youth from Rio de Janeiro whom the authors identify as “middle” and “popular class.” The authors also examine their opinions on affirmative action and the role of state and civil society in fighting inequality. Fieldwork was carried out in 2008, not with the goal of answering specific questions but with presenting elements for reflection in the debate on perceptions of inequality and justice. In broad terms, middle-class youth revealed a more critical, complex, and diverse explanatory repertoire about the causes of inequality in Brazil and the possibility of overcoming that inequality. Lower class youth held a repertoire of more generic prescriptions and expressed greater faith in education and hard work as primary means for overcoming inequalities and gaining upward mobility, thereby linking success or failure to individual achievement.