North American Leaders to Fight Racism and Discrimination

During the tenth North American Leaders' Summit (NALS), the Foreign Ministers of Mexico and Canada, Marcelo Ebrard and Melanie Joy, as well as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a declaration for the countries to jointly confront racism and inequality in the region.

The three officials agreed that the countries face important challenges to eradicate racism and discrimination both collectively and individually. Joy stressed that the three countries must combat discrimination and all forms of hatred, as she emphasized that the past cannot be changed but work can be done to build a better future. The countries therefore decided to sign an agreement to jointly promote respect for social diversity in North America.

"The fight for inclusion starts at home. It starts in Canada, it starts in Mexico, it starts in the US. In every nation, some groups suffer discrimination that prevents them from participating in society. We need to fix that." said Blinken.

Ebrard stressed that one of Mexico's greatest challenges is to end the culture of racism that permeates the country. He cited the violent treatment that the Yaqui community has suffered over the last 200 years and how it was ignored until the current government took office as an example.

"In the case of Mexico, racism is something extremely relevant. For a long time, racism has not been discussed. Many studies show that now it is a particularly important issue." said Ebrard.

What Is the Situation Regarding Discrimination and Racism in North America?

In Mexico, according to the latest available data, poverty and skin color are the main causes of discrimination. After people with darker skin tones, the most discriminated groups are Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ+ people and people whose incomes are below the poverty threshold. In addition, the results of the Survey on Discrimination in Mexico City 2021 showed that 25 percent of people have at least once felt they were discriminated against. 

Since Biden took office in the US, he has called for tolerance, as systemic racism increased extensively in recent years. According to the Texas Politics Project, the most discriminated groups in 2022 were African Americans, women and immigrants, especially those of Latin American and Asian descent. According to Harvard, this discrimination is mostly seen in the workplace, healthcare systems and the judicial system.

In Canada, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country experienced an increase in hate crimes based on religion, sexual orientation, and race. Although the country has one of the strongest social diversity policies in the world, hate crimes based on religious beliefs jumped by 67 percent in 2021. Hate crimes targeting sexual orientation rose by 64 percent and crimes focusing on race or ethnicity increased by 6 percent.