The census never said "indio": officials wrote "mestizo" instead (Dominican Republic, censuses 1920–1960)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1920 · Places: Caribbean
SUMMARYThe census never said "indio": officials wrote "mestizo" instead (Dominican Republic, censuses 1920–1960) [Connections: Latin America & Caribbean, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDJulio César Mejía Santana (Acento, 5 Oct 2022) reviewed the national census forms: 1920 used blanco, negro, mestizo, assigned by the enumerator from skin "color"; 1950 published mulato and, for the first time, amarillo; 1960 used the same four. He writes that "indio" does not appear in any national census despite its official use after Trujillo took power, and quotes historian Frank Moya Pons that census directors "utilizaron sistemáticamente la palabra 'mestizos' como equivalente al apelativo 'indio'." Results: 1960 census mulato 73%, blanco 16%, negro 10.9%; the JCE ID registry (via Moya Pons) indio 82%, blanco 7.6%, negro 4.1%, mulato 2.4%
PATTERNTwo arms of one government counted the same people two ways: the ID office said 82% "indio"; the census had no such box
LENS (WW9)The same people are "indio" on one paper and "mulato" on another. The paper changes, the people don't
OPENThe original census forms for 1935 and 1950 were not shown in the source; check ONE archives
SOURCEAcento, "El tema étnico-racial en los censos nacionales de población de RD (y 3)".