[The indigenous population in Latin American censuses]

"On reviewing the information about the indigenous population in the [Latin American] census data, clear discrepancies can be found. The main problem lies in the various definitions of indigenous population....The greatest difficulty arises from the multiple dimensionality of socio-cultural elements.... Existing estimates on indigenous population for the whole region largely vary and, in most cases, seem to be determined by strong emotions or, at least, based on highly subjective criteria. In spite of the strong criticism about the estimates taken from the population censuses, this source is generally one of the few with a real base." (SUMMARY IN ENG)