Final answer:
The mestizaje discourse in new nations fostered a sense of inclusion around a shared, mixed heritage but also upheld racial hierarchies that excluded non-European groups from power and privilege.
Step-by-step explanation:
The discourse of mestizaje in the new nations created both inclusion and exclusion by defining a national identity based on mixed heritage while simultaneously maintaining existing racial and social hierarchies. Within this system, certain mixed-race groups (such as mestizos and mulattoes) were recognized and sometimes included in society to varying degrees. However, the same discourse that celebrated a mixed identity also reinforced the superiority of the white European ancestry, pushing indigenous, African, and darker-skinned peoples to the margins of society and maintaining a stratified social order. The social caste system placed those of purely European descent at the top, with intricate designations like mestizo, mulatto, and zambo below them, and the indigenous and African slave populations at the bottom.