Latin Americas Racial Caste System: Salient Marketing Implications

Abstract

Latin American societies are structured in a fuzzy racial caste system. Whites are at the top. Next are individuals of mixed European and Indian or mixed European and African ancestry, the Mestizos and the Mulattos, respectively. At the bottom are the Indians and the blacks. Integral to this system is an overt preference for European appearance and, among many whites, the firm conviction that the dark-skinned are racially inferior. This results in exclusive use of models of European appearance in publicity channels, higher prices of luxury goods, and the perception that Latin American products are of poor quality.