Systemic racism, xenophobia and afrodescendence in the Dominican Republic. Particularities of La Romana Province

Abstract

In this research I analyze the markedly racist behavior of large sectors of Dominican society, with special
emphasis on the particularities of the province of La Romana, an area where the intensive cultivation of sugar cane has made Haitian immigration its source
of cheap labor par excellence. This fact implies that the racial question in the Dominican Republic covers two quite different aspects, one that preponderantly associates skin color and class, and another that associates Afro-descent with Haitiandescent,
generating a deep xenophobia towards the neighboring country. The mixture between racial prejudices of colonial origin with the latest waves of migration to the country, make the Dominican
Republic a chromatic breeding ground, conceived as unworthy of a modern society, postulated as a pole of tourist attraction worldwide. We are facing a society that, despite being of overwhelming Afro-descendant
majority, it does not hesitate to classify negatively, both systematically and structurally, those people with more Afro phenotypes. A society where, even
today, skin color can be decisive in providing privileges, however perpetuating the subalternity of
people who do not enjoy more Euro-descendent phenotypes.