Building the Inter-American Convention against Racism: between Antiracist Pride and Racism Denial.

This article analyzes the contentious negotiation process leading to the 2013 approval of the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance. It highlights how regimes of racism denial—manifested through debates over language, definitions, and the scope of discrimination—shaped the treaty, with Brazil playing a central role amid regional tensions. Key controversies included resistance to explicitly linking racism to colonialism and slavery, opposition to affirmative action and reparations, and the dilution of racial issues by broadening the convention’s focus to multiple forms of discrimination. Despite these challenges and limited ratification, the convention represents a significant regional human rights instrument, though the article concludes that denial of systemic racism remains entrenched in Latin American political and legal discourses.