The Role of Race and Gender in the Constitution of the World Capitalist System from a Decolonial Perspective

With a long-standing tradition in the development of critical theories, Latin America seeks, through a myriad of perspectives, to understand its peripheral position within the mechanisms of the world system.This paper aims to examine the role of race and gender in sustaining the capitalist world system through the lens of decolonial studies.It considers how both categories were historically constructed during the colonial process as tools to legitimize social, economic, and political hierarchies between the dominant and the dominated.In particular, the division of labor, based on racial and gendered distinctions, was instrumental in shaping these power relations.By analyzing these categories as central elements in the formation and maintenance of the capitalist world system, the study highlights their continued influence in perpetuating inequalities today.