How Does Context Shape Ethnoracial Classification? The Case of the Indigenous Category in Mexico.

• In Event: New Approaches to Racial and Ethnic Classification and Identity

Abstract

This paper examines how social context shapes the ethnoracial classification of individuals as Indigenous in Mexico. Prior research identifies skin tone, language, occupation, and ancestry as key determinants of racial classification, but most studies analyze these processes in neutral settings and in the United States. Using a contextualist framework, we argue that people adjust which attributes matter depending on the purpose of classification. To answer our research questions, we will conduct a conjoint survey experiment with 1,000 face-to-face respondents—half Indigenous-language speakers and half non-speakers—who are representative of adults in the city of Oaxaca de Juárez. Respondents will evaluate 16 randomized profiles that vary across seven attributes: phenotype, self-identification, language proficiency, neighborhood composition, income, occupation, and participation in Indigenous governance. Respondents will have then have to assess who counts as Indigenous in four contexts: Electoral affirmative action, economic affirmative action, social discrimination, and a neutral context. This design enables us to estimate the causal influence of various traits on Indigenous classification and to compare how these effects vary across contexts. We also assess differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous respondents, expecting Indigenous language speakers to apply stricter criteria, particularly when political stakes are involved.

Authors

• Braulio Guemez, Duke University

• Aidan Combs, The Ohio State University