Racism and discrimination in Higher Education: A reflection from URACCAN

Abstract

Since its founding, the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN) has rejected racism and discrimination in all its forms. This review article analyzes the manifestations of racism and discrimination in Latin American Higher Education, with a special emphasis on their expression in intercultural contexts and on URACCAN's experience. In a scenario marked by the persistence of the coloniality of power and the reproduction of structural inequalities, this work aims to critically examine contemporary theoretical approaches and debates on structural racism in universities, as well as to reflect on intercultural proposals as transformative alternatives. Methodologically, the study is based on a narrative and analytical review of specialized academic literature, institutional documents, and conceptual frameworks related to racism, discrimination, critical interculturality, and higher education. The analytical strategy consisted of the thematic systematization of theoretical contributions and their comparison with URACCAN's institutional experience. The review reveals that racism in higher education operates not only through explicit practices of exclusion, but also through monocultural curricular structures, epistemic hierarchies, and institutional mechanisms that limit the full recognition of Indigenous and Afrodescendant knowledge and experiences. It also identifies intercultural community-based university models as counter-hegemonic responses aimed at democratizing knowledge and promoting epistemic justice. Overcoming racism in universities requires structural, epistemological, and political transformations that redefine the very meaning of higher education in multicultural societies.