Social Representations of Latin American History and (Post)Colonial Relations in Brazil, Chile and Mexico

Abstract

Social representations of history play an important role in defining the identity of national and supranational groups such as Latin America, and also influencing present-day intergroup relations. In this paper, we discuss a study that aimed to analyse and compare social representations of Latin American history among Brazilian, Chilean, and Mexican participants. We conducted a survey with 213 university students, aged 18 to 35 years old, from these three countries, through an online questionnaire with open-ended questions about important events and people in the region's history. Despite the reference to different historical events and the existence of national specificities, several common topics were noteworthy across the three samples. There was a centrality of events involving political issues, conflicts and revolutions, as well as a recency effect and a sociocentric bias, replicating previous research about social representations of world history in different countries. There was also a strong prominence of colonization and independence issues in all samples. Through an emphasis on a common narrative of struggle and overcoming difficulties, the participants’ social representations of Latin American history may favour mobilization and resistance, challenging the stability and legitimacy of the existing social order. Furthermore, the findings are discussed in terms of their potential connections with present-day intergroup relations within Latin America, and between Latin America and other parts of the world.

Abstract

Background

Social representations of history (i.e., shared knowledge about a group’s past) are closely linked to the social identities of different groups, as well as the relations that occur between them. On the one hand, they can reinforce past and present conflicts between groups and, on the other hand, they can challenge the legitimacy of the current power balance order. Latin America, the context we studied, is a very diverse region that went through a violent process of European colonization, involving the genocide and enslavement of indigenous groups, as well as the forced displacement of Africans brought through the slave trade.

Why was this study done?

Previous studies regarding social representations of world history found that people tend to: remember recent events (recency bias), mention events related to conflicts, war and politics (centrality of warfare and politics) and events that involved their own country (sociocentric bias). We conducted this study to determine if data regarding Latin America (a supranational group) would replicate these results. Considering the long process of colonization that the region went through, we also wanted to better understand the role of this colonial experience on participants’ remembrances about Latin American history.

What did the researchers do and find?

We conducted an online survey with 213 Brazilian, Chilean, and Mexican university students. We asked them to free-recall five events and five historical figures that they considered to be the most important in Latin American history, and to evaluate the impact (positive or negative) they thought these events and personalities had on the region’s history. Our results replicated the trends found in previous studies concerning social representations of world history. Participants mentioned more events/personalities from the twentieth century (recency bias). Despite the prominence of events referring to Latin America in general, the participants also mentioned several events that happened within, or directly concerned, their own countries. The recency and sociocentric biases were stronger for historical figures. Moreover, great importance was given to events related to conflicts, revolutions and political issues. Finally, there was also a prominence of issues concerning colonization and independence processes. Interestingly, there were more similarities between the pattern of results of the Chilean and Mexican samples but fewer with the Brazilian sample – a result that may be related to historical differences between these countries.

What do these findings mean?

These findings indicate that, despite the particularities of each of the three samples, respondents in these three Latin American countries emphasise a story of struggle and overcoming difficulties in the region. This shared knowledge of Latin American history, which involves different crucial moments (e.g., colonization, independences, dictatorships), might be an attempt to denounce the long process of violence and exploitation the region experienced while also contributing to the promotion of cooperation between the countries that make up this larger (supranational) group. In addition to valuing the capacity of resistance and struggle of different individuals throughout the region’s history, sharing these social representations of Latin American history might also be a way of (re)gaining and maintaining a positive social identity, especially when facing the threat of dominant outgroups (for instance, when compared to countries such as the United States of America). Political leaders should take these representations into account when formulating policies that might be important to improve and maintain positive relations across countries in Latin America.

Translated abstract

As representações sociais da história desempenham um papel importante na definição de identidades sociais de distintos grupos nacionais e supranacionais, ao mesmo tempo em que influenciam relações intergrupais. Neste artigo, discutimos dados de um estudo que visou analisar e comparar as representações sociais da história da América Latina entre participantes brasileiros, chilenos e mexicanos. Foi realizada uma pesquisa com 213 estudantes universitários destes três países (18 a 35 anos de idade), através de um questionário online com perguntas abertas sobre acontecimentos e pessoas importantes na história da região. Apesar da existência de especificidades nacionais na nomeação de eventos históricos, destacaram-se vários tópicos comuns nos três países. Verificou-se uma centralidade de eventos envolvendo questões políticas, conflitos e revoluções, além de um efeito de recência e também de sociocentrismo, replicando pesquisas anteriores sobre representações sociais da história mundial em diferentes países. Os resultados também mostram uma forte proeminência de questões relativas à colonização e independência destes países. Através da ênfase em uma narrativa comum de luta e superação de dificuldades, as representações sociais dos participantes sobre a história latino-americana poderão favorecer a mobilização coletiva e a resistência, desafiando a estabilidade e a legitimidade da ordem social existente. Os resultados também são discutidos considerando as suas ligações com as relações intergrupais atuais na América Latina e entre a América Latina e outras partes do mundo.