Co-producing ethnoracial categories: census-takers in the 2017 Peruvian National Census

Abstract

The growing literature that analyzes the production of ethnoracial categories has focused primarily on the role of nation-states, social movements, and transnational trends. The internal institutional debates that influence these processes have received limited attention, and the role of census-takers in particular remains largely unexplored. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 54 census-takers in the 2017 Peruvian National Census, this paper argues that census-takers are influential actors in the production of ethnoracial categories and can be considered street-level bureaucrats. In our study, census-takers’ interpretations of the ethnoracial question and categories emphasized dimensions of race and ethnicity that increased the likelihood of residents to identify as mestizos. These findings suggest that, despite their temporary role, census-takers are important actors in the production of ethnoracial categories in societies where these are contested.