Interest convergence in the Land of the Cosmic Race: Mexican anti-racism and the motivation question

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent contributions to the academic literature describe Mexican racism as structural: an unintended blameless outcome of the combined actions of many individuals and institutions. This conceptualization appears to hamstring individual motivation for collective action: who is responsible for redressing the injustice and why? In this paper, I appeal to interest convergence – a key tenet of Critical Race Theory – to argue that Mexican anti-racism could gain from strategically identifying and communicating “shared predicaments” with the beneficiaries of racial injustice. Employing Grounded Normative Theory as a methodological approach and examining empirical research through [Jackson, Taharee. 2011. “Which Interests Are Served by the Principle of Interest Convergence? Whiteness, Collective Trauma, and the Case for Anti-racism.” Race Ethnicity and Education 14 (4): 435–459] “disaggregation” of interest, I find hints of moral, psychological – even emotional and material – interest convergence between beneficiaries and victims of racial injustice in Mexico. I conclude that the contextual and erratic nature of Mexican racism could be strategically harnessed to produce social reform and advance racial equality.