IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 65

Some how or another, Argentina reminds one of the Mexican case due to the invisibility of Afro-Argentines. Yet, unlike Mexico, there was more progress made. In October 2010, Afrodescendants were included in the census for the first time, nearly five years before Mexico. It is already known how many people self-identify as Afro-Argentine: 149,053, although activists’ estimates are that the number is more like 2 million. There was no great news about legal or legislative progress this year. On November8th, on the National Day for Afro-Argentines and Afro Culture, which has been celebrated since 2013, there was a proposal to upgrade to the Department for the Defense of the Public and Audiovisual Communication Services the rules contained within “Tratamiento mediático respetuoso y responsable de la diversidad étnicocultural en los medios audiovisuales” [Respectful and Responsible Media Treatment of Ethnic-Cultural Diversity in the Audiovisual Media]. These are ten suggestions for how to denounce discriminatory content, a joint proposal by Afro organizations. In Central America, Honduras, host of the First World Summit for Afro-Descendants (2011), deserves special mention. This past September, its government approved the Policy Against Racism and Racial Discrimination for the Integral Development of Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Peoples. This came after two years of work and a national survey. The Honduran State invested $1.14 million dollar in different development initiatives for indigenous and Afro-Honduran communities. Panama stood out in October due to its official intention of eliminating racial discrimination and ensuring the total inclusion of Afro-Panamanians apropos the International Decade for People of African Descent: this was supported by Afro-Panamanian groups. There will also be an inventory of intangible, cultural patrimony undertaken, and it will include things Afro. The Afro issue is quite slow in a series of countries. Paraguay and Chile are examples, although Chile did include it its last census in Arica, in 2014 (not national), and found there to be 8.415 Afro-Chileans. Both countries have a minority Afro population that is invisible and has not been counted in the census. Cuba is in a similar situation, although the Afro presence there is much more visible. Official statistics reveals that barely 9% of the Cuban population of 11 million is AfroCuban. Normalization between Cuba and the United States has not brought about notable improvements in the conditions for Cuban Afro-descendants. The rhetoric deployed at the beginning of the Revolution still prevails, and it establishes that there is no racial discrimination in Cuba. For the Dominican Republic, unfortunately, the most noteworthy news of 2015 has been the migratory crisis involving its Haitian neighbors. There has been no progress in affirmative action for the Afro-Dominican population. 65