Why Argentina’s Refusal to Acknowledge Its Black Roots Is a Problem 

Argentina presents itself as a nation shaped by European immigration. The idea that “there are no Black people in Argentina” persists. This belief stems from policies that erased entire populations from public consciousness. And now, Afro-Argentines and Indigenous peoples remain excluded from the national identity. 

The Black Roots of Argentina

Recent censuses have attempted to acknowledge Indigenous and migrant populations, yet Argentina’s common understanding of race continues to obscure its full complexity. The term “negro” carries a racist connotation in Argentine Spanish, a reflection of a society that refuses to recognize its African heritage. Meanwhile, the historical record tells a different story. 

Before Argentina became a nation, colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade had already shaped its demographics. The Spanish conquest of the Americas led to the enslavement and extermination of Indigenous peoples. Nearly 12 million Africans were trafficked across the Atlantic, with a portion arriving in the Río de la Plata. By 1778, almost 46 percent of Argentina’s population had African ancestry. Today, their presence remains largely unacknowledged. 

Slavery’s formal abolition began in 1813 with the Free Womb Law and was legally ended by the 1853 constitution. Yet illegal enslavement continued, and a new effort to erase Black communities took shape. By the late nineteenth century, Argentina’s ruling elite promoted a vision of European modernization, encouraging mass immigration from Europe while erasing African heritage from official records. Moreover, birth certificates and census documents failed to reflect Argentina’s true racial composition. Sadly, the national education system reinforced this narrative, and popular culture embraced the myth of a homogeneously white Argentina. But this is not true.  

Embracing the Diversity of Argentina

Afro-Argentines and Indigenous communities never disappeared. Their contributions remain integral to the country’s history, though long denied recognition. Today, activists and scholars are challenging centuries of erasure, demanding policies that reflect Argentina’s true diversity. 

A nation cannot fully understand itself while suppressing the histories of its people. And Argentina’s identity is richer than its European narrative suggests. But, for now, the fight for recognition continues.