Racial Democracy to AA Brazil

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Paving Paradise: The Road from "Racial Democracy" to Affirmative Action in BrazilAuthor(s): Sérgio Da Silva Martins , Carlos Alberto Medeiros, Elisa Larkin NascimentoSource: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 34, No. 6, African Descendants in Brazil (Jul., 2004), pp.787-816Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3180914

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PAVINGPARADISEThe Road From"Racial

Democracy"to AffirmativeAction in Brazil

SERGIODA SILVAMARTINSGreaterRio de JaneiroUniversity

CARLOS ALBERTOMEDEIROSFluminenseFederalUniversity,Rio de Janeiro

ELISALARKINNASCIMENTO

Afro-BrazilianStudiesand ResearchInstitute

The recentadoptionof affirmative ctionpolicies inBrazil hasgenerateda

publicdebatestarkly ncontrast othetraditionally egemonicdiscourseof

"racialdemocracy."Manya studentof race relations n Brazil would have

predicted hatsuchdevelopments ould neveroccur.Buthistorical orerun-

ners of theconceptareto be found nproposalsmadebythe Afro-Brazilian

social movement in the 1940s and 1950s, advancedparticularlyby theBlack Experimental Theater, and bills introduced by Abdias do

Nascimento nboth housesof the BrazilianCongress.Thedevelopmentof

the black movement's demands and political articulation, eading to the

country'sactiveparticipationnthe 3rdWorldConferenceAgainstRacism

in Durban n 2001, gave a major impulse to the evolution of affirmative

actionprogramsand theirimplementationn Brazil.Internationalupportand participation in this process is fundamentally important to the

continuedsuccess of black social movement initiatives.

Keywords: anti-discriminationaw; affirmativeaction; compensatory

measures;public policy; internationalcovenants and stan-

dards or the eliminationof racism

It is perhaps an irony and certainly a victory, albeit a partial one,

that the recent adoption of affirmative action policies in Brazil has

generated a public debate starkly in contrast to the traditionally

hegemonic discourse of "racialdemocracy."Many a student of racerelations in Brazil would have predicted that such developments

JOURNALOF BLACKSTUDIES,Vol. 34 No. 6, July2004 787-816

DOI: 10.1177/0021934704264006

? 2004 Sage Publications

787



788 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES JULY 2004

could never occur.Buttheyconfirmtheprophecycontained n the

followingstatement,made n the 1950sby seniorAfricanBrazilianscholar andactivist Abdias do Nascimento(1968):

The relative nonexistence in Latin society of violent aggressionagainstblacks, United States, South Africa, Angola or Mozam-

bique-style,is identifiedwith the absence of racial discrimination.Those who thinkthisway do notperceivethe subtlesocio-psycho-logical theorythathas beenintricatelybuilt anddevelopedover thecourseof ourhistory, andingthose who partakeof it in a surrealist

labyrinth.This has retarded,but not eradicated,the spectacularemergenceof prejudiceand its consequentcounterpart, lso spec-tacular, he militantreactionof blacks. (p. 47)

Likemanyprophetic tatements,hisonewasconsideredpatentlyabsurdat the time it was made.But the recentenactmentof affirma-

tive action legislationandprograms n Brazilhas been the result

preciselyof the militant reaction foreseen

byNascimento and

spearheaded y the Afro-Brazilian ocial movement.Itis avictorynotonly by virtueof thepotentialeffectof themeasures aken,but

also because the debate on affirmativeactionsignalsthe ultimate

failureof the racialdemocracymyth,so effectively legitimized bythe Brazilianrulingeliteandbythe State tself,which concocted an

image of racial harmonythat masked the existence of a huge

raciallysegregated aborreserve and reducedthe race issue to one

of class conflict that would be solvedby thebuildingof socialismor the implementationof universalrace-neutral ncome distribu-

tionpolicies.For decades, the Afro-Brazilian antiracist social movement

counteredhis discoursewith itsown evaluationof the need forspe-cific policiesto deal with racialdiscrimination nd ts legacy.How-

ever,only very recentlyhas this propositionbeen takenseriously

bythe Stateandcivil society,and t is stillhotlycontestedby promi-nent intellectuals and large sectors of public opinion. What has

changed s thataffirmative ction measuresarebeing implementedin variouscontexts,from governmentagencies to publicandpri-



Martinset al. / AFFIRMATIVEACTIONIN BRAZIL 789

vateuniversities,particularlyn the wake of the 3rd WorldConfer-

ence AgainstRacism heldin Durban n 2001. Theprocessof orga-nizing Brazilian participation in the conference, although

problematic, nvolved buildingactive partnershipsbetween gov-ernmentagenciesandcivil society andwas largelyresponsible or

the creation of policy measuresthatwould have been considered

highly improbablein Brazil by almost any earlier evaluation.

Indeed,the Afro-Braziliansocial movementsurprised tself with

its owngains,

such as thelegislationestablishingquotas

for admis-

sion to publicuniversities n Rio de Janeiro n 2002. Whiteappli-cants denied admissionin the highly competitiveentranceproce-dure flocked to the courts of Rio de JaneiroState to challengethe

admissionof African descendantstudentsunder hequota system.

Suddenlythe questionof racial discriminationwas brought o the

fore andpublic opinionwas rallied aroundan issue it hadlargely

ignored,despitethe long historyefforts of African descendants o

define it as a national issue rather han a "problem"of the blackpopulation.Thus,thevictoryis twofold:implementation f policymeasures,ononehand,andthe broadattentionof publicopinionto

an issue it traditionallyhadsweptunderthe rug,on the other.

In this essay, we seek to describe the contours of this process,

offeringan overview of the efforts andgainsof the Afro-Brazilian

antiracist ocial movementandof recentdevelopments n affirma-

tive actionpolicy

andtherespective

debate nBraziliansociety.

Itis

our contention hat nternationalinksputintomotionin time,cul-

minating nthe 3rdWorldCongress,were essentialfactors nbuild-

ing these victories.

The first section will focus briefly on Afro-Brazilian social

movements nthe 20thcenturyandearlyaffirmative ctionpropos-als;the second section examinesdevelopments n the 1980s;in the

thirdsection,we look brieflyat the3rdWorldConferenceAgainst

Racism and its preparatory rocess andaftermath; nd the fourthsection will focus on recentdevelopments n affirmativeactionin

Brazil.



790 JOURNALOF BLACKSTUDIES JULY 2004

EARLY AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

PROPOSALS, 1930-1979

The racial democracyideology tends not only to deprivethe

dominatedpopulationof its base for collective self-defense and

self-upliftingbut also to convince the ruling elite of its pristineinnocence and fairness. There has never been a traditionof inte-

gratedcivil rightsmovements n Brazil,a factexacerbatedby two

majorperiodsof authoritarianule(1937-1945 and 1964-1985) in

which mostly white leftist political leadersworkingto overcomemilitaryregimes saw the race questionnot only as a nonissue or

their last prioritybut also as a threat to the unity of democratic

forces.

In 1937,the BrazilianBlackFront,a mass civil rightsmovement

based argely nSaoPaulo,was closeddownalongwithallpolitical

parties,bannedby theNew StateDictatorship. nthe 1960s,while

antipovertyprogramswere

being implementedn

responseto the

U.S. civil rightsmovement,Brazil'smilitarydictatorship dvanced

policies exacerbating inequality as it unleashed brutalpolitical

repression.Congresswas closed in 1968 andpoliticalleaderswere

exiled;publicdiscussionof racism was prohibitedby decree.

After the fall of theseregimes, duringthe two majorperiodsof

reorganizationf Braziliandemocracy,Afro-Brazilianmovements

campaignedfor policy measuresto combat racism. As the New

StateDictatorshipgavewayto a ConstitutionalAssemblyin 1945,blackorganizationsproposed nclusion of antidiscriminationmea-

sures nthenew nationalcharter.nthe 1970s,Afro-Brazilian rga-nizationsproliferated nd intervened n thewritingof theCitizens'

Constitutionof 1988. Yet, only very recently-since the late

1990s-have theyfoundsolid supportamongallies in othersocial

movements.

Nonetheless,never has the Afro-Brazilianvoice been silenced.

From the beginning of the 20th century,an active black pressdenounced discriminationn Brazil,heralding he mood of resis-

tance thatwas to crystallize n 1931withthecreationof theBrazil-

ian Black Front Quilombhoje,1998).Moving againstsegregationand the systematicexclusion of African Braziliansfrom the new



Martinset al. / AFFIRMATIVEACTION IN BRAZIL 791

industrialeconomy,it spreadover the nation'sterritory, eeking a

place for blacks in "Brazilian"society without questioning theEurocentric arametersf thatsocietyorclaimingaspecificcultural,

social, or ethnicidentity.The Black ExperimentalTheater(TEN), createdby Abdias do

Nascimentoin 1944, soughtto combat racism in generaland the

exclusion of Africans from Braziliantheater n particular.As partof this mission, it worked to rescue and reconstructAfrican heri-

tagein Brazil,

introducinga new dimension: he demandof differ-

ence, refusal to assumeEuropeanculturalbaggageas "universal,"andemphasison the value of Africanidentity.

Duringthebuildingof democracyafter he fall of the New State

regime,theTENspawned heAfro-BrazilianDemocraticCommit-

tee (1945-1946) and convened important sociopolitical events

includingthe National Conventionof BrazilianBlacks,which met

in Sao Paulo in 1945 and Rio de Janeiro n 1946, with a total of

about 700 participants. tsManifestoto theBrazilianNation con-tained six demands,among them subsidized admissionof black

students to public and privatesecondaryand highereducational

institutions,"includingmilitaryestablishments,"nd antidiscrimi-

nation egislationcomplementedbypolicymeasures Nascimento,1968, pp. 59-60).

The demand for public policy measuresto combat racismwas

inscribedin each issue of TEN'sjournalQuilombo.

Itsprogramincluded making race discriminationa crime; providing free

schooling for all Brazilianchildrenand subsidized admissionof

black students n secondaryschools anduniversities; ightingrac-

ismthroughculturalandeducationalaction;andcorrecting hedis-

torted Eurocentric mage of Africans and their history (Nasci-

mento,2003).The 1stCongressof BrazilianBlacks was organized n 1950by

TEN andheld in Rio de Janeiro.It involvedhundredsof delegatesand countless black organizationsn a broad forumof discussion

andanalysisof problemsconfronting he blackpopulation, ocus-

ing on the need to define and defendlaborrightsfor domestic ser-

vants, organize literacyand educationcampaignsin the favelas,




and discuss issues of African dentityand aesthetics(Nascimento,

1968, 2003).With the militarycoup of 1964, activismof any sort was vio-

lently repressedandantiracistworkspecificallybannedbynational

security aw.Nevertheless,during he 1970s,Afro-Brazilianorga-nizations continued to spring up in variouspartsof the country,

alongwith culturalmovements ike "Black Soul"thatpromoteda

newidentityconsciousness. These movementswereheavilyinflu-

encedby theaesthetics,and to someextent therhetoric,of African

American nationalism, as conveyed by soul lyrics like James

Brown's"Sayit loud, I'm blackandI'm proud" Brown& Ellis,

1969).Black activistsresistingthemilitaryregimehad to confrontthe

oppositionof leftistgroupsthatdenied the legitimacyof antiracist

struggleandparticularly f identity politics.Ontheinternationalcene,themilitaryregimemadeeveryeffort

to silence Abdias do NascimentoashedenouncedBrazilianracismfrom exile at Africanworldevents like the 6th Pan-AfricanCon-

gress (Nascimento, 1989; Nascimento & Larkin Nascimento,

1992).In July 1978, still in the face of the militaryregime,the black

movementaudaciouslyheld a public rally againstracismon the

stepsof Sao Paulo'sMunicipalTheater,outof whichemergedthe

incipientUnifiedBlack Movement(MNU).

African consciousness was growingall over South and Central

America,andthe 1st and 2nd Congressesof Black Culture n the

Americas were held in Cali, Colombia (1977), and in Panama

(1980). At the 2nd Congress,Abdias do Nascimento launchedhis

liberationtheory of Quilombismo, based on Diaspora maroon

resistance(Nascimento,1980, 1990). Brazilwas elected venue of

the3rdCongress,which ookplace nSaoPaulo n 1982(Afrodiaspora,

1983-1986).Thesecongresseswere a landmarknthehistoryof international

AfricanDiasporaconsciousness,denouncing hehypocritical olor

hierarchyof Latinsocieties as a pigmentocracyandchallengingthepseudo-Marxistheory hatsubsumed ace nto class.Theyush-

eredin a new eraof demand orpolicy againstracismand for self-




definitionin which Brazil wouldtakea leadingrole confirmedby

its hostingthe 3rdCongress.

NEW ARTICULATIONSIN THE 1980S

The 1980s saw the rebuildingof democracy n Brazilwith the

directelectionof stategovernorsand membersof stateandfederal

legislatures n 1982 andthe indirectelection, in 1985, of the first

civilian presidentafter 20 yearsof authoritarianule.The decade

began with the nationwide gatheringof black organizationsat

SerradaBarriga, iteof Zumbi'sRepublicof Palmares,wheretheycreated he Zumbi Memorialanddefinedanagendaforthedecade

with emphasis on an intense campaign against the Apartheid

regimeandparticipationn drafting henew constitution.

ThefirstpostdictatorshipCongressionalandstateelections fol-

lowedhot on the heels of the3rdCongressof Black Culture n theAmericas,andits president,Abdiasdo Nascimento,took office in

theHouseof Deputies. Amongotherunprecedentednitiatives,he

introducedBill of Law No. 1.332/83, providingfor "Compensa-

toryAction to implement herightsof equalopportunity ndequal

protection .. securedby Article 153, Section 1 of the Constitu-

tion" (Nascimento, 1983-1986, v. 1). The bill proposeda set of

compensatorymeasuresin education,government,employment,and civil service,including ncentivesfordiversityprogramsn the

privatesector.It set percentagegoals of 20% black women and

20% blackmen,a totalof 40%,in "allagenciesof publicadminis-

tration,direct and indirect,on the Federal,State, and Municipallevels,"includingthe ArmedForces, "atall levels of service and

management"Art. 2), as well as in "businesses, irms,andestab-

lishments in commerce, industry,services, financialmarket and

agriculture"Art. 3). Itestablishedpercentagegoalsof 40%of fed-eral, state,andmunicipalgrantsandstipendsto blackstudents,aswell as40%of theplacesat Rio BrancoInstitute, hehighlypresti-gious official diplomatictrainingschool, again divided equallyamongmen andwomen (Art. 7). Its scope was not limited,how-

ever,to numericalmeasures,because it required he federal,state,




and ocaleducationauthoritieso studyand mplement"changes n

school and academiccurricula,on all levels (primary, econdary,university,andgraduate),"ncorporatingnto the contentof Brazil-

ianhistoryandgeneralhistorycourses"thepositiverealizationsof

Africansand their descendants"and also of Africancivilizations,

"particularlyheir culturalandtechnologicaladvancesbeforethe

European invasion . . " (Art. 8). Approved by the two relevant

House Committees Constitution ndJustice;SocialIssues),it was

never takento plenaryvote.

CongressmanNascimento separatelyintroducedanotherbill,

PL 3.196/84, creating percentagegoals of 40% of the places for

AfricanBrazilians ntheMinistryof ForeignRelations'diplomaticschool, the Rio BrancoInstitute,traditionallya bastion of racial

discriminationNascimento,1983-1986,v. 3, pp. 91-92).Severalof the principlescontemplated n these bills would be

signed into law 20 yearslater,includingsubsidizedadmissionof

(only 20) black studentsto the Rio BrancoInstitute,percentagegoals in civil service and universityadmissions,and mandatory

teaching of African and Afro-Brazilianhistory and culture in

school curriculum.

At thattime,the ideaof administrative olicy attending pecificneeds of the Afro-Brazilianpopulationwas taken as far-fetched

andracist.Gainsweremade,however,as theblack movementgrewmore effective.

Advisorybodies were createdwithin

governmentstructuresandagencies in an increasingnumberof stateandcityadministrations.By 1988, instigatedby the ZumbiMemorial,the

federalMinistryof Culturehad createdan Abolition Centennial

Commission utof whichwasborn hePalmares ulturaloundation.

In the sameperiod,the ConstitutionalCongressapprovedsev-

eral measures proposed by the Afro-Braziliancommunity and

includedin the 1988 charter.These provisionsestablishedracism

as a crimewithoutbailor statuteof limitations(Art.5, sec. XLII);mandatedhe demarcation f thelands of contemporaryQuilombocommunities (Art. 68, TransitionalProvisions); announcedthe

pluricultural nd multiethnicnatureof the country,providingthat

the state would protectmanifestationsof Afro-Brazilianculture

amongothers(Art.215, par.1); preservedas nationalpatrimony




the sites of formerQuilombosand their documents(Art.216, sec.

5); andmandated nclusion of "the contributionsof differentcul-tures and ethnicitiesto the formationof the Brazilianpeople"in

historycourses(Art.242, sec. 1). Some State ConstituentAssem-

blies followed suit.Since 1988,promulgation f federal aw 7.716

definingthe crime of racism andimplementing he constitutional

provision was considereda crucial development.A plethoraof

stateandmunicipal aws,mostlyinthe areaof education,sprangupas well (Silva Jr.,1998).

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1990S

These developmentsmust be credited to the Afro-Brazilian

socialmovement.Evenwhenverysparselyrepresentedn the halls

of power, its pressure was already influencing Brazil's SouthAfrica policy in the 1980s (Nascimento, 1985; Afrodiaspora,1983-1986).NGOs andblackorganizations ctivelyengaged abor

unions,political parties, heChristian hurches,religiouscommu-

nities of Africanorigin,culturalorganizations,and civil society in

general.Raisingthe"racialquestion"neacharea,andoftenfacing

hostilityandrejection, heywon allies andconvincedconsciences.

Themost visible expressionof this trend s thesubstitutionof May13th,anniversary f slavery'sabolition,forNovember20th,anni-

versaryof Zumbi'sdeathdefending heRepublicof Palmares.May13th s nowa dayof reflectionon the falseness of abolitionand the

injusticeof its aftermath.Schools, cultural nstitutions, hemedia,andgovernmentagenciescelebrateNationalBlackConsciousness

DayonNovember20th,whichhas becomeaholidayin somecitiesand states, including Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre (RS), and

Piracicaba SP).Thesegainshavenot beeneasily made;thebacklash s vocifer-

ous and consistent. When Governor Leonel Brizola of Rio deJaneiroState in 1991 createdSEAFRO, he firstandonly top-levelstategovernmentagency concerned with public policy for Afro-

Brazilians,oppositionin the StateLegislatureallegedreverserac-




ism. Challengesto the constitutionalityof the administrative aw

creating the Secretariatpreventedits being made a permanentagency,and t was abolished n 1994by thesucceedingadministra-

tion.Similarly,MayorCeliodeCastroofBelo Horizonte,capitalof

MinasGeraisState,createda City Secretariat or Black Commu-

nityConcerns.In 1998, it was approvedby thecity legislatureas a

permanent gency;nevertheless,t also wasextinguishedn 2002.

In 1993, 5 yearsafterit came into effect, the new constitution

wassubjectedoarevisionprocess.Congressmanlorestan emandes,

sociologistandveteranally of the blackmovement,confrontedhis

party'sstanceof boycottingthe revisionandintroducedanamend-

ment that would have devoted an entirechapterof the constitution

to theissueof racialequality, nscribing heprincipleof affirmative

actionin the charter tself (Fernandes,1994).His amendmentwas

notapproved,but ts introductionmarkeda definite urnaboutnthe

opennessof leftist intellectuals to the idea of compensatorypoli-

cies and helped pave the way for introductionof the StatuteofRacialEquality(Paim,2003).

The year 1995, 3rd Centennialof Zumbi'sImmortality,was a

watershed n terms of the evolution of racepolicy.InJune,Brazil

received the official visit of Dr. MauriceGlegle Ahanhanzo of

Benin, Special Rapporteur f the United Nations HumanRightsCommittee,and his staff. His mission was to verify information

broughtbefore the committeeand the ILO

byblackactivists affili-

atedwith the CentralWorkers'Union(CUT)inparallelreports hat

countered he allegationscontained n Brazil's official reports.Dr.Glegle's reportwas a direct and serious blowto the nation's

international retense o racialdemocracy.Themissionvisited four

statesand interviewedmembersof city, state,and federallegisla-tive bodies; governmentofficials, advisorycouncils, NGOs, and

civil society."On he officialplane,racismdoes not existinBrazil,"

the reportobserved,concludingthatlegislationdefiningrace dis-criminationas a crime failedto diminishpersistentracial nequali-ties; research and policy measures are necessary to close the

vicious cycle of discriminationand general denial of the racial

natureof inequality.




The effect of this reportwas great.A society that had largely

ignoredthe appealsof Afro-Brazilianactivists was forced to takenotice of the UN mission's data.

InNovember,African-Brazilianmobilizationwas consolidated

inamajorMarchonBrasilia,with30,000participants. heNational

Executive Committee (CEN) presented to President Fernando

HenriqueCardosoa Program or OvercomingRacismandRacial

Inequality hatstill stands as a synthesisof the blackmovement's

demands orpublic policy measures, dentifyingfour criticalareas

of intervention: ducation,the labormarket, nfantmortality,and

racial violence. It concluded by demandinginclusion of survey

questionson race/color n allpublicrecords,ademandstill of vital

importancetoday (Munanga, 1996); implementationof Interna-

tional LaborOrganizationConventions29, 105, and 111 and the

InternationalConventionon the Eliminationof Racial Discrimina-

tion;a nationalemergencyliteracyprogram;ncome supplement-

ationfor blackyouthin elementaryand secondaryschools; affir-mative actionin highereducation;andother items (CEN, 1996).

In response, the president announced the creation of an

InterministerialWorkingGroupfor the Black Population(GTI)andmadeanunprecedented fficial statement ecognizing he exis-

tence of racial discriminationand the need for policy measuresto

combat it. Underfundedand understaffed, he GTI sponsoreda

seriesof seminarson affirmative ction allover thecountry,

as well

asan internationalorum(Souza,1997),anddrewup46 publicpol-

icy proposals(Presidenciada Republica[PR], 1998, p. 62). The

NationalHumanRights Program Ministryof Justice)includedin

its Proposalsfor GovernmentalAction supportfor "positivedis-

crimination" and "compensatory policies" to combat racial

inequalityandto improvethe Afro-Braziliancommunity'ssocio-

economicstatus ProgramaNacionaldeDireitosHumanos,1998).

Theseprincipleswere not acceptedby the generalpublic,how-ever,and thepresidenthimself contributedo thebiasagainstaffir-

mative action by identifying it with quotas and alleging that it

"implies ignoringthe evaluationof merit" PR, 1998, pp. 29-30),one of the foremost theses of Brazilian society's resistance to




antidiscriminationolicyandthe one raised nthe SenateConstitu-

tion and Justice CommitteeagainstAbdias do Nascimento'sbillwhen it was reintroducedn 1997 (Nascimento,1997-1999, v. 4,

pp. 39-62).

Major abororganizationsplayedan importantpart n combat-

ing this resistanceby breaking he traditional eftisttaboo thatrais-

ing the issue of racial discriminationwould divide the workingclass. They created internalagencies whose literaturesupportsantidiscrimination olicy andpublishedserious researchdemon-

strating racial inequalities (Central Unica dos Trabalhadores

[CUT] & Comissao Nacional Contra a Discriminacao Racial

[CNCDR], 1997, 1998; Instituto Sindical IntramericanoPela

Igualdade Racial [INSPIR] & DepartamentoIntersindical de

Estatisticae Estudos Socio-Economicos[DIEESE], 1999).This development ed black movementand workers'organiza-

tions to bringa case before the InternationalLaborOrganization

(ILO) in 1994 for noncompliancewith ConventionNo. 111 onEmploymentDiscrimination, atifiedby Brazilin 1965.Respond-

ing to the ILOcitation,Brazilrequested echnicalcooperation.In

1996,the LaborMinistry nstitutedaWorkingGroup or theElimi-

nation of Employment and Occupation Discrimination

(GTEDEO),a tripartitebody created with ILOtechnicalsupportfor implementationof Brazil's commitmentsunder ILO Conven-

tion No. 111 (PresidentialDecreeof March20, 1996, in Silva Jr.,

1998, pp. 82-83; Ministry of Labor & International Labor

Organization,1998).

Thus,not until the mid-1990s was the idea of affirmative ction

takenseriouslyin Brazil. SenatorBeneditada SilvapresentedBill

of Law 14/95, proposinga 10%quota program or entrance nto

higher education institutions for "socially discriminatedethno-

racial sectors,"meaningblacks and indigenouspeople. The bill

was not takento vote.The issue of reparationsalso was takento Congressthatyear.

Bill of Law 1.239/95, introducedby then CongressmanPaulo

Paim,refers othe "moralandmaterialdebtof BrazilianStateto the

Afro-Brazilianpopulationby reason of the slave regime andthe

absenceof post-abolition ntegrationmeasures." tproposesa set of




measures ncludingpecuniaryreparation, uotas n thepublicedu-

cation system proportionateo the black share of the population,andcompensatorypolicies in access to employmentandhousing.

Reintroduced n the Senate in 1997, Abdias do Nascimento's

comprehensive Compensatory Action Bill 75/97 was recom-

mended forpassage by its Rapporteurn the Constitutionand Jus-

tice Committee,SenatorRobertoRequiao.Othercommitteemem-

bers raiseddoubtsas to its constitutionalityand it was not takento

vote butinspired

a milderversion,SenatorJoseSarey's

PL 650,introducedn 1999 and discussed below.

Afro-Brazilianparticipation n the halls of power-political

parties,electedoffices, andgovernmentagencies-has growncon-

siderablysince 1982, when the firstdirect elections were held as

duskfell over themilitarydictatorship.AbdiasdoNascimentowas

then theonly AfricanBraziliansentto Congresswith a mandate o

represent hispopulation.Today,althoughby no meansapproach-

ing what would be proportionate epresentation,he weightof theblack voice has increasedby countless administrativeappoint-ments and elected offices. Two governors,Albuino Azeredo of

Espirito Santo and Alceu Collares of Rio Grande do Sul, were

elected in 1990. Former SenatorBenedita da Silva was elected

vice-governorof Riode Janeiron 1999andtookofficeasgovernorin 2002. Thenumberof state andcity legislators s everincreasing.SenatorsAbdias do Nascimento,BeneditadaSilva,andMarinada

Silva servedin the 1990s and veteranCongressmanPauloPaim,elected senator n 2002, took office as vice-presidentof the Senate

in 2003. There were enough members of Congress to bring

togetheran incipientAfro-BrazilianCaucusin 1997 and to orga-nize collective parliamentaryrepresentation o the Preparatory

Meetings and the 3rd WorldCongress Against Racism in 2000-

2001. Under heleadershipof CongressmanLuiz Albertoof Bahia,

the 1st NationalEncounterof blackParliamentarians as held inSalvadorn2001. Thismeeting,combinedwiththe 3rdWorldCon-

gressexperience,pavedthewayforthe 1st Encounterof black Par-

liamentarians f LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean,heldin Brasilia

in 2003.




At the end of the 1990s,blackattorneyswereengagedin build-

ing jurisprudenceon cases of racismin Braziliancourts based onthe new constitutionalprovisions and legislation. Yet, it was

increasinglyclearthatrecourse ocriminal egislationwould not be

effectivein solving theproblemsof structural acism.

Oneof the mostimportant evelopmentspavingthewayforpos-itive action was the productionand disseminationof statistical

researchdocumentingracial inequalitiesand demonstrating hat

theycouldnot be attributedntirelyto factors ike education,pov-

erty, or the heritageof slavery.Early sociological research had

begun his trend Hasenbalg, 979;Lovell,1991;Silva &Hasenbalg,

1992).TheAfro-Brazilian ocial movementhadinsisted foryearson theneedfor reliabledatato undergirdhe formulationof public

policyand evaluate ts effect. Inclusionof surveyquestionsonrace

or color in vital recordslike birth and deathcertificates,hospitaland other nstitutional ecords,employeerecords,and so on is still

of vital importance oday.Groups of researchers n federal agencies like the Brazilian

Geographyand Statistics Institute(IBGE) and the Institute for

Applied Economic Research(IPEA) demonstratedwith increas-

ingly specific data the extent to which racism was a significant

component n the constructionof inequality.Studieslike those byRoberto Borges Martins (2000, 2001) and Ricardo Henriques

(2000, 2001) of IPEA; Jose Luis Petruccelli (2002) of IBGE;RosanaHeringer(1999) of IERE;and Wania Sant'Anna(2001)andMarceloPaixao(1998) of FASElay thegroundworkojustify

positive policy measures.

It canbe said thatthe 1990sushered n a new stageinthe Brazil-

ian State'srhetoricon racebutthat the initiativesdidnotgo much

beyond producing reports.The two Working Groupscreatedin

1995, as well as the HumanRightsProgram,were chargedwith

examiningthe racial situationand formulatingpolicy proposals,programsof action, andresources to counteract nequality.Theyfinished theirwork in 1998andpresented heirreports o thepresi-dent,whopracticallygnored heresultsandadoptedno significantmeasuresfavoringthe blackpopulation.Behind the scenes, those

ingovernment ircles commentedon thedifficultyof establishinga




consensusaround he need for suchmeasures n the statebureau-

cracyand the risk of negativeeffects in the polls on the eve of the1998presidentialandCongressionalelections.Onlywheninterna-

tional developmentspushed the reelected administrationurther

would it take significantaction, as its second termof office was

closing in late 2001.

3RD WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM,PREPARATORYPROCESS, AND AFTERMATH

Brazil'sparticipation tthe 1st WorldConferenceAgainstRac-

ism, in August 1978,had been well in line with its Africapolicies:

sophisticatedand astuterhetoricwithverylittle content.Theblack

movement made itself presentthrougha telegramaddressedbyAbdias doNascimento(2002) to UnitedNationsSecretaryGeneral

KurtWaldheim,n which hedescribedwhathe definedas thegeno-cide of black Braziliansanddeclared,

In my name and that of millions of AfricanBraziliansI want to

expressourhope thateffective measures will be takenagainstthecrime of racism and racial discriminationthat also afflicts the

majorityof the Brazilianpopulation,consisting of black Africandescendants. p. 209)

At thattime,thecharacterization f theAfrican-Brazilian opu-lation as a majoritywas unusual and provocative.Even more

shockingwas to describe tas the secondlargestAfricanpopulationin the worldand to emphasizethedominationof thismajorityby a

white minority elite, similar to the Apartheid regime in South

Africa. Then polemical and hotly contested, these comparisonshave been consolidated in time, becomingterms of reference for

international esearchandhumanrightsorganizations.

Preparationorthe 3rdWorldConferenceunderscored hecon-

trastbetweenthis lone black voice in 1978 andarticulation mongdozens,indeedhundreds,of Africanorganizationsn Brazil and intheregionas the 21st centurybegan.



802 JOURNALOF BLACKSTUDIES JULY2004

Brazil had offered to host the regionalpreparatoryonference

for the Americas.This would have been a rareopportunityo bringbeforethe world the internalraceproblemsof thecountrywith the

largestblackpopulation n Latin America.However, he Brazilian

governmentbacktracked n hostingthe preparatorymeetingafter

streetdemonstrationsduringthe commemorationsof the 500th

anniversary f Brazil n March2000, whenindigenousandAfrican

Brazilianswere arrestedandrepressed,made it clear thatthe offi-

cial racialdemocracydiscoursewould not hold water.

Brazilianorganizationsike Geledes, ENZP,CEAP,and Criola

beganan intenseprocessof international rticulation ndbuildingof partnershipswith otherorganizations n LatinAmerica,North

America,and theCaribbean, xchangingexperienceand informa-

tion in preparationor the 3rdWorldConference.These interna-

tional networkswereveryeffective,in particularheLatinAmeri-

can and CaribbeanStrategicAlliance, which brought together

about600 activists n Santiago,Chile,during heregionalPrepara-toryConference or theAmericas, orming he AfricanDescendant

and AfricanFront,which workedclosely to pressuregovernment

delegationsduringconferencesessions in Santiago,Geneva,and

Durban. Certainpartnershipswere crucial, among them Mundo

Afro of Uruguay, he InternationalHumanRightsLawGroup,the

FordFoundation, nd he SouthernEducationFoundationCompara-tive Initiativeon HumanRelations(Telles,2003).

Reinforcedby international etworks, he Afro-Brazilianmove-

mentplacedintensepressureon theBraziliangovernmentanddip-lomaticagents,leadingthe countryto assumeadvancedpositions

includinganexplicitcommitment o theprincipleof compensatory

policiesfor the Africandescendantpopulation. nformedandmon-

itoredby movementrepresentatives,Brazil'sdelegatestook a lead-

ership role in the negotiationof resolutionsthat would become

normsof internationalaw.African-Brazilian ctivistEdnaRolandwas elected GeneralRapporteurof the Durban Conferenceand

later ook officeaspartof the HumanRightsCommission'sWorking

Groupof Expertson Peoplesof AfricanDescent.

Itis ourunderstandinghattheresolutionsset forth n the Santi-

ago Declarationand Plan of Action,whichwere maintainedn the




final document drafted n Durban n August 2001, despitebeing

noncompulsory,wereanimportant tepforwardnthefight againstracismandracial nequalityandhad a directeffectinthecountry.

Forthe firsttimeinhistory, he Americascolonizedby Spainand

Portugal, rincipallyBrazil,recognizedheinseparableinksbetween

colonialism andslaveryand theirconsequencestoday.It is signifi-

cantly importanto unite the debateon affirmative ction andrepa-rationswith their historicalreferences.

In the Plan of Action, the conference"requestsStates to con-

sider . . . investments in healthcare systems, education, public

health, electricity, drinkingwater and environmentalcontrol, as

well as otheraffirmativeorpositiveaction initiatives n communi-

tiesofprimarilyAfricandescent." turgesstatesto ensureaccessto

education andnew technologiesandpromote"the ull and accu-

rate inclusionof thehistoryand contributionofAfricansandpeo-ple ofAfricandescentinthe educationcurriculum"italics added).

Hot on the heels of the DurbanConference,affirmativeactionmeasuresbeganto crop upin Brazil andthegovernmentook mea-

sures ikeadhering o Article14 of the InternationalConventionon

the Elimination of All Formsof Racial Discrimination CERD),ratifiedby Brazilnearly40 yearsearlier,accepting hecompetenceof the United Nations HumanRightsCommission to receiveindi-

vidualcomplaintsof discrimination.

InSeptember

2001, while the DurbanConference was still in

session,theMinistryof AgrarianDevelopment MDA)announced

anaffirmativectionprogramor raceandethnicity, eeking o "adopt

compensatory, pecial and temporarymeasures to accelerate the

processof buildingracialequalityin thecountryside";urveyand

analyzeparticipationevels of blackcivil servantsntheinstitution;andinstitutea minimumquotaof 20% blacksin decision-making

positionsin 2001 and 30%by 2003, a minimumof 20% blackpar-

ticipation n out-contractedervices, firms,and nternational gen-cies, andaminimum20%of placesavailable npublic employmentcontests for posts in the ministry(MDA, 2002).

TheMinistryof Justicesoon followedsuitwithsimilarmeasures

(PortariaNo. 1.156, December20, 2001). TheFederalCouncilto



804 JOURNALOF BLACKSTUDIES JULY2004

CombatRacism was formedby PresidentialDecreeNo. 3.952 of

October4, 2002, withcompetenceto hearcomplaints.PresidentialDecree No. 4.228 of May 13, 2002, consolidated

theseinitiativesby institutinga nationalaffirmative ctionprogramin the federalpublicadministration,with the following goals: (a)

guarantee he realization of percentagegoals of participationof

African descendants,women, and handicappedpersons in high

rankingpublic administrationposts called DAS; (b) clauses of

adherence to the program in terms of negotiated transfer of

resources within the Federal Public Administration; c) obser-

vance, in contractbidding for agencies of the Federal Public

Administration, f an additional coringcriterion o benefitsuppli-ers who provethattheyhaveadoptedpolicies compatiblewiththe

program'sgoals; (d) inclusion, in contractswith firms supplying

services,technicians,andconsultantsnthecontextof projectscar-

ried out in partnershipwith internationalbodies, of clauses estab-

lishing percentagegoals for participation f Africandescendants,women, and the handicapped.

TheMinistryof ForeignRelationsadheredby offering20 black

students ubsidizedadmission o theRioBrancoInstitute Cooper-ationProtocol,May 14, 2002).

Administrativeecrees ike these areessentiallyrhetorical.Theyaffectonly thegovernmentagenciesinvolved and theirintents are

easily thwarted rannulledby bureaucraticnertia.Moreover, heycan be revokedat will. Laws, on the otherhand,have a broader

effect on society and arerevokedonly by subsequent egislation,which involves a complicatedprocessof negotiationandpoliticalconcession.

With this in mind, the black movement offeredlegislatorsthe

technical assistanceof juristslike JoaquimBarbosaGomes, later

appointedo theSupremeCourt,who wrotebriefson constitutional

issues invokedagainstsuchmeasures. nNovember2001, thepres-ident of theSupremeCourtmadeacomprehensive tatementof the

constitutionality f affirmative ctionat amajorseminarheld atthe

SuperiorLaborTribunal Mello, 2001).Inthiscontext, t waspossiblein the Senateto overcome he con-

stitutionalobjectionsraised againstearlierbills, and PL 650/99




became law in 2002. Itprovidesfor 20%quotas n all civil service

entrancecompetitions,publicandprivateuniversitiesandfundingforpoorstudents,andcompulsoryaffirmativeactionprograms or

privatebusinessescompetingforpublicfunds and commissions. It

also calls on political parties o create ncentiveprogramsorAfri-

can descendant candidates and binds the public authorities to

engage in publicity campaignspromotingpositive images of this

population.Such measuresdo not prejudicesimilar nitiativesbystates andmunicipalities.

Approvalof this law involved the most significantpost-Durban

development: recognition of the constitutionalityof affirmative

action.Thispaved hewayfornewfederal, tate,and ocal nitiatives.

Less than a year later,Federal Law No. 10.639 of January9,

2003, was promulgated,mandatingthe teachingof African and

Afro-Brazilianhistory nschool curricula t all levels of education.

Currently,he most comprehensivepiece of federallegislation

underscrutiny s the Statuteof RacialEquality,proposedby thenCongressmanPaulo Paim n2000. Thisbill was discussedinmajornationalseminars nvolving civil society organizations;a specialcommittee was set up to write a substitute text based on those

inputs.Itestablishes herighttopositivemeasures,ncludingquota

systems, in health care, education, sports and leisure, religiousfreedom, and,employment,communicationsmedia,and access to

the courts. It setsup

a Fund for Promotionof RacialEquality

to

financepublicpolicypromotingequalopportunity nd nclusionof

African Brazilians n all these areas.It calls for creationof perma-nent ombudsman offices in local, state, and federal legislativehouses (Paim, 2003).

The role of antidiscrimination law has been questioned

(Dzidzienyo, 1995) in a society where the existence of rhetorical

butineffectivelegal norms has neverguaranteed acialequalityor

any otherprincipleof human or citizenship rights.But the lawsinscribed n the newBraziliansocial orderandthe normsapprovedatthe 3rdWorldConferencehave a definiterole,albeitnotoriouslynot as a resultof theireffectiveenforcement.Rather,heymakeupa

resourceand a weaponin the hands of organizedcivil society as it



806 JOURNALOFBLACK STUDIES JULY2004

exercisesits role of criticalparticipationn the implementationof

victoriesit has won that resultin formulationof statepolicy.In Brazil, the international ontext is particularlymportant n

this respect.International epercussionand the prideof the elite

diplomaticcorpson its avantgarde sophisticationare two factors

thatfacilitated,withoutdoubt,thegainswonin the wakeof the 3rd

WorldConference.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN UNIVERSITY

ADMISSIONS: THE NEW SCENARIO

Theelectionof PresidentLuiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2002 her-

aldedthecomingtopowerof apoorNortheasternerndtradeunion

organizer.TheNortheast s a miserablypoor regionof Brazil,sub-

ject to chronic and devastating drought,whose populationhas

migrated n droves to the favelas andtownshipsof cities like SaoPaulo andRio de Janeiro.Northeasternersretargetsof prejudiceand discriminationwith a distinctly racial tint, as the African

descendantpopulation s highlyconcentratedn thatregion.InMarch2003, Lula'sadministrationreatedacabinetpostwith

the statusof ministryfor policies promotingracialequality(Spe-cial Federal Secretariat or Policies PromotingRacial Equality

[SEPPIR]).Inconjunctionwith otherministries,thisbody articu-

lates policy measureslargely by means of task forces, the most

important f which is one on racialequality n education nstituted

in September2003 jointly with the Ministryof Education.Their

workhasresulted nthepublishingof a NationalPolicyfor thePro-

motion of Racial Equality,emphasizingthe need for affirmative

action andkilombocommunityentitlement, hearticulation f race

and gender,and the institutionof a monitoringsystem allowing

civil society to follow and intervene in the implementationofpolicies combatingracism(SEPPIR,2003).

The educationalsystemanduniversityadmissionshave been a

primary ocus of the blackmovement'sactivity n thepastdecades

(Munanga,1996, 1999), whetherthrough he creationof commu-

nity schools (Luz, 1989), debates andseminars Silva & Barbosa,




1997;Triumpho,1991),or extracurriculareacher rainingcourses

(Larkin-Nascimento, 993, 1994).Public universities in Brazil, which hold the most academic

prestigeand credibility,are tuition-free.Admissions are decided

solely on the basis of an entranceexam called the vestibular.Stu-

dents who can afford to attend privateprimaryand secondaryschools and takepreparatoryourses for the entranceexamattend

tuition-freepublic universities, whereas students coming from

poorfamilies andpublicschools haveverylittle chance of gainingaccess to public universityand are forced to pay high tuition costs

atprivate acultiesanduniversities.AfricanBraziliansarevirtuallyexcluded from free higher education, particularly prestigiouscareercourseslike medicine, law,anddentistry.

In the mid-1990s, the blackmovement created ts own form of

affirmative ctionwithoutquotas: ommunity-basedratuitousUni-

versityAdmissionsPreparation ourses or Blacks andPoorPeople

(PVNC).Theprogramhasspread o manydifferentstates and mu-nicipalitieswith the goal of increasingaccess of Afro-Brazilians

and poor people to higher education. Some PVNC groups suc-

ceeded in getting universitiesto offer subsidizedadmissionsfor

students from these courses. In Rio de Janeiro,for example, the

Pontifical CatholicUniversityhas offeredsome 700 tuitiongrantsto PVNC studentssince 1996.

Moreproblematic

hanentrance ntouniversity

s theability

to

staythereandfinishthe course.Manystudents ive farawayfrom

campus,dependon precariouspublic transportation ystems,and

cannotpayforbooks,transportation,lothing,or evenfood. Those

who workareoften so exhaustedonarrivinghome inthewee hours

afterridingthree or fourbuses or trains thatthey cannotkeep uptheirearlymorningstudyschedule.

In the wake of the 3rd WorldConferenceandthe federalmea-

suresdescribedabove,Rio de Janeiro'sStateLegislativeAssemblypasseda law creatinga quota n thestateuniversitysystemof 40%for "blacks andpardos."This quotawas added to a 50% quota,

already n effect, for studentscomingfrompublicschools.Duringthe nextyear, heStateUniversityof Bahia nstitutedasimilarmea-

sure,followed in 2003 by the (federal)Universityof Brasilia,the




FederalUniversityof Alagoas, and the StateUniversityof Mato

Grossodo Sul, which alreadyhad a quotafor indigenous people.The FederalUniversity of Bahia and the University of Rio de

Janeiro(UNI-Rio) arealso examiningthe adoptionof quotasfor

Africandescendants.The JoaquimNabucoFoundationof Recife,

PernambucoState,adopteda 40%quotafor studentsat all levels.

Simultaneously,severalmunicipalities n the State of Sao Paulo

(Jaboticabal,Cubatao,Jundiaf,Piracicaba) dopted20%quotas or

African descendants n theircivil service contestexams, whereas

the mayorof PortoAlegre instituteda 10%quota.Theoretical discussions were being trampledby reality:Con-

traryto the predictionsof most studentsof the issue, affirmative

actionwasbeginning o happenandproduceresults n the world of

racialdemocracy.The suddenand intensereactionwas impressive.A society that

hadignoredthe race issue for decadeswasjarred ntodiscussingit

ateveryturn, he prevailingopinionbeing thatquotasareracistinnatureandthatpreferenceby anycriterionother hanmerit s unjustin principle.Otherpreferencesystems, however,were not con-

tested,includingthosefor thehandicapped r forwomen as candi-

datesfor election.

A seriesof ongoingbattles n thejudiciarybeganandhas contin-

ued.Some300 whitecandidatesdeniedplacement n theStateUni-

versityof Rio de Janeiro(UERJ)in early2003 went to the courts

andwon injunctions.Some of themwouldnothave been admitted

independentlyof the quotas.At the sametime, the National Con-

federation of LearningEstablishments(private schools) (Con-

fenen)tookadirectunconstitutionalityuit to theSupremeFederal

Tribunal.Thistriggereda proaffirmativectioncampaign hathas

involvedthe majororganizationsof the blackmovementand their

allies in the media, the academy,andthe political arena. Several

organizations ignedon to the suit as amicuscuriae, a tool thatisbeing used in Brazil for the firsttime, presentingbriefs in which

theydefendedtheprincipleof affirmativeactionwithsociologicalandpoliticalarguments.

In thiscontext,animportantdevelopments theformationof the

internationalAffirmativeAction Affinity Group,spearheadedby




the InternationalHuman Rights Law Group, Mundo Afro and

humanrightsorganizations f Uruguay,and severalAfro-Brazilianorganizationsandattorneys.When the U.S. SupremeCourtdeci-

sionintheMichiganStateUniversitycases reaffirmed he constitu-

tionality of the principleof affirmativeaction in June 2003, the

Affinity Groupmet with governmentofficials andvarious sectors

of civil societyin Rio deJaneiro,Brasflia,andSaoPauloto supportits consolidation n Brazil, sharingtheirexperienceandexchang-

ing informationwith theattorneyswhoargued heMichigan

cases.

This partnership as continuedandpromises positive results.

TheSupremeFederalTribunal's rofilehad beenchangedweeks

earlierby the appointmentof PresidentLula of JoaquimBarbosa

Gomes, the first African descendantto sit on the highest court's

bench. The possibility of a judgmentthatcould have established

strong precedentin favor of the affirmativeactionprinciplewas

thwarted,however,by theuniversity tself, whichproposeda new

law to the StateAssembly that was approved n August 2003, intimeto be implemented or the 2004 entranceexam. Itcut thequo-tas by half, to 20%, andprovidedthatthe stategovernment und

programs upport tudents hrough o graduation.Promulgation f

the new lawnullified theSupremeCourtaction,and thenew lawis

nowbeing challenged n the moreconservative tatecourts,where

its opponentshave a betterchance of prevailing.

Althoughseminarsonaffirmative ctiontake

placealmost

daily,the broad debate is still characterizedby generaldisinformation.

Themajorityof Braziliansdo not know whataffirmativeactionis,and the few who haveanyidea believe it is synonymouswithquo-tas, somethingused in theUnited States to benefitonly blacks and

that has not been effective in any case because racistincidentsin

thatcountrystill occurperiodically.One of the mostproblematicssues is definingthebeneficiaries,

whose identity s so easilyrevealed n statistics hatshowprofoundinequalities n income, education,andmortality atesbut so hidden

away in daily life's intricate web of supposedlycordialrelations

under the cloak of agreed-onprejudiceand discrimination. n a

toneof irony,activistshavesuggestedasimple procedure:When n

doubtas to someone's racial identity,consult the police-or the




doormanof the residentialbuilding or the employee selection

agentsat the local shoppingmall, indeedanyof themyriadagentsof discrimination n Braziliansociety.

Opponentsof affirmativeactionallege thathighrates of misce-

genationdo not allow one to distinguishwho is black in Brazil.

They opportunistically se two raceconceptsthattheythemselves

generally portray as opposites: the Brazilian color/appearancemodel andthe U.S. one-droprule.Eventhough heyindictthe latter

as racist because it defines anyone with an African ancestoras

black,theydo not hesitateto adopt t, invokinga supposedlyblack

great-grandparent,hen it is in their interestto "prove" hattheytoo are Africandescendants.Whenone notes thatthereare almost

no blacksin thediplomaticcorps,forinstance, he standard nswer

is, "Well,most Braziliandiplomatsaren't all that white either."

Thus is the need for policy measuresdismissed: The same voices

thatexalt thevalueof the nation'ssingularracialexperienceunder

the color criterion now suddenly adhere to the heredityrule toblock the adoptionof remediesagainst inequality.

This is not to deny that difficulties can arise. The criterion

adoptedby UERJandby the Afro-Braziliansocial movement is

self-identification,consistentwith internationalaw, andin some

cases white candidateshave registeredas Africandescendants o

benefit fromquotas.Inone incident,anorganizedgroupof whites

registeredas blacks with the statedpurposeof demoralizingthe

selection process. But attemptedfraud against a system should

serve to indict not the systembuttheperpetratorsf the fraud.The

cutoff for definingthe povertyline or delimiting age groupscan

also be contested,but this does not bringinto questionthe legiti-

macyof public policy benefitingthe pooror seniorcitizens.

Theargument f merit,whichallegesthatquotasunfairlypreju-dice whites whose academicperformances superior,eavesalone

anotherdiscussion,whichhas been on the agendaforyears,aboutthe validityof the vestibulartself. Many specialistsassertthatthe

entranceexam does not serveto evaluatea student'sprospectsfor

success,whether romthe academicpointof view or,moreimpor-tant,with respectto futureperformancen the labormarket.For

many, he vestibularmeasuresnothingotherthanone'scapacityto




performon the vestibular.Recent studies showed that the presi-

dents of majorpublic universities, f they took their institutions'entrance xamstoday,wouldnotpass.And themajorityof students

whopassthe examtodaywould notpassit againnextyear.Further-

more,PVNC studentsadmittedby PUC-RIOwith tuitiongrantsachievedexcellent results.Althoughtheywereadmitted o the uni-

versity with lower grades, those who completed their studies

reversedthe situationand graduatedwith gradeshigherthan the

averageamong paying students.This pointsto the validityof one

argumentn favorof affirmativeaction: that studentsovercoming

disadvantage eize theopportunitywith enthusiasmandworkhard,in contrast o those who take a college educationfor grantedand

content themselves with a gentleman'sC.

Infact,what is at stakeherearetheprivilegesof whiteness,and

these have been sustainedfor centuriesby a hypocriticalformof

racism that makes concessions and blursboundaries o guarantee

its overallvictoryin essence andeffect.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

An interestingaspect of the Brazilianapproach o affirmative

action is that,different rom the UnitedStates, tsjustificationcon-

sistently emphasizes the constitutional principle of equality(isonomia),whichmandates ompensation orthepastdiscrimina-

tion thatcreatedcurrent acial nequalities.This hasbeen truefrom

theoutset; n his legislativeproposals,Abdias do Nascimentopre-ferred he termcompensatory ction to affirmative ction.The idea

is to implementthe constitutionalprincipleof equality by payingwhat former SupremeFederalTribunalPresidentMello (2001)calls "historical debts" owed by the Brazilian State to social

minorities, n particularAfrican Brazilians.In this way,Brazilanticipated he model of theDurbanConfer-

ence, whichby recognizing slaveryand the slavetrafficas crimes

against humanitypavedthe way for reparations.The generalideaof public policy as compensation mprovingthe living conditions

of a historicallydiscriminatedpopulationunderlies the Brazilian




notionof affirmative ction.Theappeal o diversityand tspositive

effects intheworkplace,university,andsociety,which won thedayin the Michigancases and became the foundationof the constitu-

tionalendorsementof affirmativeactionin theUnitedStates,are a

dimension still to be exploredanddevelopedin Brazil.

Althoughthegainsof the Afro-Brazilian ocialmovementhave

beensignificantandhaveacceleratedover thepastdecade,it is too

earlyto evaluatethe long-termconsequencesof policies that have

beenputon thebooks,althoughnot in all cases putintoeffect, in a

countryplaguedbyextremepovertyand nequality.Wehave on the

horizonthe certaintyof difficult battles to fight because the same

elite thatfor yearshas refused to contemplateoradoptaffirmative

actionpolicies will be largelyin chargeof puttingthese measures

intooperation.Traditionally,t is anelitecloistered n bureaucratic

agenciesandtribunals apableof transforminghebest of lawsinto

"things orEnglishmento see,"like the legislationprohibiting he

traffic n Africansduring he timeof the slaveregime.Theidea, insum,is to makethe appearanceof runningwhile standingstill.

In thisscenario,oncemore t is of utmost mportanceomaintain

and develop internationalcooperation, links, and partnerships

among organizationsandnetworksthat,jointly with local actors,can reinforceandstrengthen ur actions nthestruggleagainstrac-

ism andrace discrimination. t is truethattodaywe have before us

actionsthat demand morethangood will and dedication:profes-

sionalism,sophistication,and technicalknow-how.Without hese,we will return o anothercycle of protestand denunciationwithout

significantpracticalresults,because our fellow citizens, when it

comes to "blackpeople's problems" assuntode preto), preferto

turntheir backsandapplythe law of omission.

Meanwhile, heAfro-Brazilianpopulationandsocialmovement

is perfecting tsmeansandtoolsof monitoringpublicpolicyimple-

mentation,ever alertto thenew and sinuousturnsthat racism cer-tainly will take in the land of paradisepromised and privilegesustained.




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Sergioda Silva Martins is an attorneywith a master'sdegreein constitutional aw

and theoryof the statefrom the PontificalCatholicUniversityof

Rio de Janeiro

(PUC-Rio).Hefounded and served as the coordinatorof the Zumbidos Palmares

NationalOffice(ENZP)and coordinated he law and ustice programof the Center

forArticulationof MarginalizedPopulations CEAP).Heactivelyparticipated n the

3rd WorldConferenceAgainstRacismpreparatoryprocess andwas one of thecre-

ators of the Afro-Latin-Americannd CaribbeanAlliance. He participatedin the

ComparativeHumanRelationsInitiativeorganizedbytheSouthernEducationFoun-




dationofAtlanta.He teaches constitutional aw at GreaterRiode JaneiroUniversity

(Unigranrio).

CarlosAlbertoMedeiros s ajournalistbyprofession,with a B.A. in communication

andpublishingand an M.A. n uridicaland social sciencesfromFluminenseFederal

University RiodeJaneiro).An activist since the 1970sin thestruggle againstracial

inequality nBrazilandabroad,he is a memberofIPCN, CIDAN, ndIPEAFRO.He

hasproducedorhelpedproducevideos,articles,and booksabout racismand related

issues and has been active in the recentaffirmative ction developments n Brazil.

Elisa LarkinNascimento holds an M.A. in American studies and a J.D.from the

StateUniversityof

New York tBuffalo

as well as a Ph.D. inpsychologyof

education

and humandevelopmentfrom he Universityof S~o Paulo.A cofounderof theAfro-

BrazilianStudiesand ResearchInstituteandof theAfricanandAfro-American tud-

ies Program PROAFRO)t Rio de Janeiro StateUniversity UERJ),she organizedtheSankofa:AfricanMatrixofBrazilianCulture oursefrom1985 to 1995.Shepar-

ticipated n the SouthernEducationFoundation'sComparativenitiativeon Human

Relations and in the 3rd WorldConferenceAgainst Racism. She has written or

coauthoredmanybooks and articles.

Racial Democracy to AA Brazil

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