Heuristic Repression: Why Modern Latin American Dictatorships Target Underrepresented Racial Groups

Why do security forces in Latin America disproportionately target racial minorities? This article argues that the regime leadership’s racial makeup determines whether they racially target civilians. Using previously formulated databases regarding ethnic inequality and power as well as cases of violence perpetrated by security forces, this study supports the hypothesis that Latin American regimes are more likely to ethnically target civilians of certain races if the leadership is racially homogenous. On the other hand, other indicators outside of race, such as socioeconomic standing are used to target civilians if the security leadership is heterogeneous.