Compare/Contrast intergroup relations in 3 countries (from information I will provide) - Essay Example

Diversity in ethnicity within a country including the highly populated countries is highly significant. In sociology, the perspective between the large and small ethnic groups, ethnicity and race are treated as social categories. The social concepts can only be understood in the context of the understandings attached to them by the members of the society. Economic demands and needs lead to ethnic and social hostilities due to the misunderstandings which arise from need to control a certain economic activity or resource (Schaefer, 2010).

The other theme that comes up is the world systems considering the global economy in the concept of countries the control resources and countries that provide raw materials and labor. The countries considered are the “haves” and the “have not’s” (Schaefer, 2010). These two themes are the ones which will be the basis in comparing and contrasting the intergroup relations. In this case, we compare and contrast the cases of three countries: Mexico, Canada and Brazil. In Mexico, some social changes have led to some difference in ethnicity in the country.

A major concern has been reassessing the link between the indigenous people and the Mexican government. In 1900, majorityof the people in Mexico spoke in Indian languages and lived in small isolated villages in accordance to their ancestral norms (Schaefer, 2010). They were not truly represented in the government and they were left out in the industrialization Mexico. Their only cognizable change only came in the 20th century when they intermarried with the Europeans descendants to form a class of people called the mestizo.

The mestizos have developed their own distinct culture. These social changes have been a major cause of the Mexican Indians been left behind the rest of population in terms of economic development. Indian cultures have been a subject of stereotype as backward and lagging behind the rest of the world in their resistance to modern ways of living (Schaefer, 2010). Mexico has also exhibited discrimination in gender. In Mexico, women didn’t have the right to vote up until 1957.up until 2011, the Mexican parliament accounted for 26% of women which shows that they have made progress but they still have a long way to go (Schaefer, 2010).

Women have been denied the recognition as an active family member even when they are working away from the family. Men are always preferred to women in highly skilled jobs. Generally Mexico has started to recognize that the problem of social discrimination goes beyond poverty. A survey has been conduced and has shown that 40% of Mexicans didn’t want to live next to their Indian neighbors while 8/10 of Mexicans felt that it was important to eliminate inequality as poverty (Schaefer, 2010). In Canada, the issue of multiculturism has been brought up to refer to diversity.

Multiculturism has been adopted as a national policy for over 20 years. Canada has rallied for a national identity which is cohesive or a sense of peoplehood. The sparse population and the size of the country have been a major setback to this effort. During the Canadian history, there have been little disputes between the Canadian white and the Canadian Native Americans (Schaefer, 2010). This trend has stretched up until today. Tribal members were encouraged to ignore their tribalism and declare they are Canadian citizens which is a contrast to the