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Families in Latin America

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Handbuch Familiensoziologie

Abstract

In this chapter, we ask What means Latin American family? First, we frame Latin American families from the socio-historical perspective, considering the works of Robichaux, about indigenous family patterns in Mesoamerica, and Therborn, who analysed creole families in the global context of the twentieth century. In the second section, a sociodemographic emphasis compares and contrasts family trends among Latin American countries with regard to other countries and regions of the world. The third and fourth sections develop issues concerning gender inequalities, gender diversity, sexual rights, migration, and the Pandemic. Sociological and political points of view fuse in the third, fourth, and fifth sections, which are among the most significant issues in the contemporary debate and their relation to families in Latin America. Selected cases of nation-states allow us to discuss the potential links between global issues and family life. At this point in the chapter, internal stratification remains evident, as is the phenomenon of inter-country inequalities in the region. Considering the “entanglement” between gender, race, age, and the resources needed for the daily life of Latin American families, similitudes, differences, and inequalities beyond the mere definition of family organisation arise. Moreover, the paper shows a persistent bimodal behaviour as a general pattern in one of the world’s most unequal regions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ethnic/racial statistics are scarce in Latin America.

  2. 2.

    Unless otherwise specified we are here primarily using the demographic and social statistics of CEPALSTAT and the OECD Family Database.

  3. 3.

    Latin American data, from CEPAL, refer to 2018–20, US and European, from the OECD, refer to 2011.

  4. 4.

    Care work includes the production of goods and services essential to life, such as preparing food, performing physical and emotional support tasks, transmitting knowledge and values, and staying with people to guarantee their well-being.

  5. 5.

    Also referred to as ‘left-of-centre’, ‘left-leaning’, and ‘radical social democratic’ governments in Latin America. The term first came into public discourse following the victory of Hugo Chávez in the Venezuelan presidential elections of 1998. Subsequently, the election of governments in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Guatemala consolidated the pink tide (Oxford Dictionary of Politics 2009).

  6. 6.

    https://www.cepal.org/en/pressreleases/economic-slowdown-deepens-latin-america-and-caribbean-average-regional-growth-18

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social work, Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Santiago de Chile, Chile

    Javiera Cienfuegos

  2. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Göran Therborn

  3. Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

    Göran Therborn

Authors
  1. Javiera Cienfuegos
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  2. Göran Therborn
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Correspondence to Javiera Cienfuegos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Soziologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Deutschland

    Oliver Arránz Becker

  2. Institut für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Universität zu Köln, Köln, Deutschland

    Karsten Hank

  3. Institut für Soziologie, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Deutschland

    Anja Steinbach

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Cienfuegos, J., Therborn, G. (2023). Families in Latin America. In: Arránz Becker, O., Hank, K., Steinbach, A. (eds) Handbuch Familiensoziologie. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-35219-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-35219-6_10

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