ABSTRACT
After years of struggle for visibility, recognition and equality in Latin America, Afro-descendants have garnered a number of antidiscrimination law enactments. The legal gains range from multicultural constitutional recognition, collective land titles, affirmative action programs and criminal sanction on discrimination. The advent of multicultural constitutions since the 1980s has rightfully celebrated Indigenous and Afro-descended contributions to the nation-state that were historically ignored and/or not fully valued. The vast majority of countries in Latin America have focused upon criminal law as the vehicle for addressing racial discrimination. Latin American criminal justice systems are overloaded with traditional crimes of violence and property crimes. In a system plagued with problems and systemic inefficiencies, the crimes of racism and racial discrimination have and are likely to continue to be a low priority.
