“Still, modern historian Francisco Scarano (1993:199) has argued that by the seventeenth century mestizos “were probably more numerous than the Spaniards themselves.” What may be at stake here is not the definition of “mestizo,” but rather the definition of “Spaniard.” Mestizos, especially those born legitimately and who lived according to accepted colonial norms were being accepted as “Spaniards,” a term that now no longer indicated place of origin alone, but was being expanded to indicate status and a level of acceptance based on cultural attributes and probably to some extent on appearance (Schwartz 1995).”
One must read the whole piece but my point is, contra what some French and American people claim, mestizo is not necessarily a transgressive class. It is part of white, particularly when you do things like buy slaves or become a member of the Inquisition. Contra what some Spaniards and Brazilians claim, the fact that not all member of the elite are entirely European by hypodescent does not mean there is no racial hierarchy, nor does it imply that the state is not in fact founded upon such hierarchies.
Axé.
My mestizo forebears in California called themselves Spanish.