Camacho traces the development of Jose Marti's ideas about progress, the market, and the educational reforms carried out by liberal governments in Central America, Argentina and the United States at the end of the 19th century. Unlike previous work in the area that tends to focus on Marti's famous essay "Our America," Camacho shows his support of laws and military acts that were very detrimental to the Indians during this time. The book also sheds light on Marti's ideas about social-evolution and race, discourses that were frequently used by the cultural elites to justify their acts.

In Etnografía, política y poder a finales del siglo XIX: José Martí y la cuestión indígena, Jorge Camacho traces the development of José Martí's ideas about progress, the market, and the educational reforms carried out by liberal governments in Central America, Argentina, and the United States at the end of the 19th century. Unlike previous work in the area that tends to focus on Martí's famous essay "Our America", Camacho shows his support of laws and military acts that were very detrimental to the Indians during this time. Among these acts were Julio Roca's genocidal "campaign" in Argentina that virtually wiped out the indigenous population in La Pampa and General Rufino Barrios' expropriation and commercialization of indigenous lands in Guatemala. The book also sheds light on Martí's ideas about social-evolution and race, discourses that were frequently used by the cultural elites to justify their acts.