The large mestizo populations that result from high levels of interracial union common to the region are often linked to racial democracy.

For many Cubans this translates into an argument of "racial harmony", often referred to as racial democracy.

For years, Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery, glossed over its racial divide with the concept of a racial democracy.

Chica was a symbol of Brazil's so called "racial democracy."

Though there is a strong correlation between white skin and social and economic status, Brazilians are taught to think of their country as a racial democracy.

The philosophy of the racial democracy in Brazil has drawn criticism from some quarters.

Over time, racial democracy would become widely accepted among Brazilians of all stripes and many foreign academics.

Skidmore argues that the predominantly white elite within Brazilian society promoted racial democracy to obscure very real forms of racial oppression.

But that has unleashed an acrimonious debate in a country that traditionally prides itself on being a harmonious "racial democracy."

But Brazilian blacks remain scarce in the upper levels of government, business and management, and some argue that the storied "racial democracy" is a myth.