(History, a Way of doing Politics: Latin America, Indigenous People, and Mestizaje)

Abstract

We will consider that the use of the categories “mestizaje” and “mestizo” refers us to the past. In other words, we are not saying that these categories are out of date, but that they find their content in the consequences of relations already established in the past. In this sense, in the histories of Latin America, when using these categories, Indigenous subjects are considered conquered subjects within the epistemological horizon of the West. Moreover, such narratives have served to legitimize a desired set of relations between diverse subjects or an order. Formulated differently, they have fulfilled the social function of structuring various modes of coexistence between diverse subjects. They have done so by highlighting what has found continuity in the reality represented as Latin America and what no longer holds relevance. This would be a consequence of an anthropological a priori that seeks legitimacy for a particular set of interests and desires. The methodology used in this article falls within the scope of Latin American philosophy in its historicist perspective, particularly that proposed by Arturo Roig.