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Brazilian National Identity at a Crossroads: The Myth of Racial Democracy and the Development of Black Identity

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Abstract

This article aims at coping with the 2003 implementation of affirmative action policies favoring blacks and “browns” in public-funded universities in Brazil. We are especially interested in coming to terms with some of the most resounding controversies over this type of “race”-based policy, which in our view are to be seen as reactions to some core aspects of Brazil’s national identity. The key question that has pervaded this debate is: Should the State apparatus, by means of these non-universalist policies, foster racial identities in a society that has historically imagined itself as racially mixed and, as such, able to deal with race-based conflicts in a quite positive way? As we will strive to demonstrate, these controversies gained momentum as multiculturalism started to inform identity-oriented social movements, which in recent years excelled in challenging the image of Brazil as a successful case of a melting-pot society by denouncing deep-seated social inequalities grounded in racial lines. We want to investigate whether popular resistance to race-based public policies will propel the rise of a sort of resented form of nationalism in Brazil’s public scene.

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Notes

  1. See in this respect, e.g., Held and McGrew (2002); Huntington (1997); Snyder and Mansfield (1996).

  2. Pardo, which literally means “brown,” is the official term used to refer to mixed-race individuals. In the Brazilian Census people are asked to classify themselves as either white or black or pardo or yellow (which stands for native Brazilians and individuals of oriental descent). Although the Brazilian quota system includes the native Brazilian population, this article focuses exclusively on the Brazilian population of African descent, which is much more numerous and influential.

  3. I use the term “social imaginary” as defined by Charles Taylor, that is, as “socially shared ways in which social spaces are imagined.” See Taylor (1999).

  4. Martins (2000).

  5. Von Martius (1845).

  6. Burns (1968), p. 39. According to Burns, Brazilian intelligentsia has formulated the nationalist doctrine and looked after its development in alliance with politicians and policy-makers.

  7. See Skidmore (1974).

  8. Historian Bradford Burns maintains that 1930s intellectuals were driven by a “philosophical impulse” to develop the nation, to define the national character, and to project a favorable image of the country abroad. Burns (1968), p. 39–54.

  9. “Imagined community” is how Benedict Anderson named any community, or modern nations, that transcends face-to face relations See Anderson (1983).

  10. Fry (2000).

  11. Zweig (1960).

  12. Maio (2001).

  13. Fernandes (1965) translated as The Negro in Brazilian Society (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969); Ianni (1966).

  14. See, for example, Nascimento (1978) translated to Racial Democracy in Brazil: Mixture or Massacre? Essays in the Genocide of a Black People (Dover, MA: The Majority), Hanchard (1994); Brown (1997), Twine (2001), Winant (1994).

  15. See especially Hasenbalg (1979).

  16. Rosenberg (1990); Lovell (1991); Barcelos (1992); Miranda-Ribeiro and Magno de Carvalho (2003); Telles (2003), among others.

  17. Chauí (2001).

  18. Bernardino (2002). For American Brazilianist Daniel (2002), “the long-term purpose of affirmative action policies is to move race relations in Brazil toward a greater emphasis on the negro/white dichotomy, if not the strict enforcement of the one-drop rule of descent.”

  19. Martins (2000).

  20. Cardoso (1962) and Cardoso and Ianni (1960).

  21. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, “Construindo a Democracia Racial,” public speech on November, 20th 1995.

  22. The National Program for Human Rights and the Interministerial Working Group for the Valorization of the Black Population.

  23. In the conference opening speech, FHC stated that “We should seek for solutions that are not a pure and simple repetition or carbon copy of the solutions created for similar situations involving prejudice and discrimination, but within a context different from ours. We should seek for a creative solution.” (Cardoso 1997).

  24. It also created a scholarship program for blacks attending the Rio Branco Institute, the school of Brazilians’ diplomats, among other projects.

  25. Quoted in Htun (2004).

  26. Earlier, Garotinho had established a 40% quota for students who had attended public high schools (i.e., students from the lower classes). After several lawsuits and negative reactions against the racial-based quota system, the governor has again changed admission policies for the two State universities. Law 4.151 of September 4th, 2003 has established a 20% quota for blacks, a 20% for students who studied in the public system, and a 5% to handicapped and native Brazilians. All candidates through the quota system must also prove that their (or their parents) income is lower than circa US $12,000.

  27. Flávia Oliveira, “Mercado negro ganha força com lançamentos,” O GLOBO, December 29th, 2002, 34.

  28. According to this project, universities are autonomous to decide upon their own admission criteria and about the number of seats to be reserved for blacks, pardos, and “native-Brazilians.” At any rate, two of the most prestigious Brazilian universities, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the University of São Paulo, have refused to implement racial quotas. Ruben Berta, “Medicina diz não às Cotas,” O GLOBO, August 18th, 2004, 16.

  29. Quoted in Ruben Berta, “O Racismo na Berlinda,” O GLOBO, 18th of August, 2004, 16.

  30. Minister of Education Tarso Genro, “Falsa Polêmica” O GLOBO, May 30th 2005, 6 (emphasis added).

  31. http://www.presidencia.gov.br/seppir/.

  32. Most of the initiatives regarding racial inequality in Brazil adopted by the PT are in higher education (44%); then initiatives that aim at the generation of jobs for blacks (18,7 percent; human rights (13.3%); information (7.2%), culture (5.5%), and legislation (4.5%). The NGOs, financed by the state, are the main promoters of such initiatives, coordinating circa 36,5 percent of the programs while the rest of the projects is implemented by the government alone or in partnership with NGOs. There other initiatives carried out by universities, sometimes with funds from foreign foundation (Ford) and others promoted by unions, parties, and firms. Those initiatives include cooperatives, cultural groups, and scholarships for black students (Ford Foundation and Instituto Rio Branco), media campaigns, etc. Folha de São Paulo, January 19th, 2004.

  33. Critics have argued that “ill-prepared students admitted through the quota system most likely would drop out or would be treated with indulgence and becoming therefore low-quality professionals.” Indeed, by December 2003, 40 percent of the students admitted through the quota system at the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro had quitted. See Nelito Fernandes, “Abrir a porta não bastou,” Revista ÉPOCA, December 8th, 2003, 74.

  34. Amâncio Paulino de Carvalho, “Fora de Foco,” O GLOBO December 20th, 2004, 7.

  35. Adriana Castelo Branco, “Para OAB-RJ, Cota fere Constituição,” O GLOBO, February 24th, 2003, 13.

  36. Brazilian 1998 Constitution—Title I—Fundamental Principles. The quota system, nonetheless, has been defended on the basis that Article III—Title 1 of the 1988 Constitution determines the Brazilian State as responsible “for the eradication of poverty and the reduction of social inequalities.” It has been also argued that the Brazilian charter was not an impediment for the implementation of other public policies that privilege segments of society such as assistance to the poor, free transportation for the elder and high school students, fiscal incentives for small businesses, etc. In addition, historians have reminded that, in 1943, a law required that two-thirds of workers employed in private businesses to be Brazilian; in 1990 there were created quotas of up to 20% for the handicapped in public service jobs and, in 1997, a law required political parties to filed a minimum percentage of women candidates in legislative elections. See Neves (1997).

  37. Flávia Oliveira “O Artigo 5°,” O GLOBO, February 23rd, 2003, 36.

  38. Azuete Fogaça, “O Direito à Igualdade,” O GLOBO, April 2nd, 2004, 7.

  39. Azuete Fogaça, “Cadê os democratas?” O GLOBO, October 5th, 2004, 7.

  40. Quoted in José Roberto Pinto de Góes, “O racismo vira Lei,” O GLOBO, August 16th, 2004 (emphasis added).

  41. Letter from Almerinda Benevides D’Allancourt, O GLOBO, March 18th, 2004, 6.

  42. Letter from Rivalda da Costa Santos, O GLOBO, December 23rd, 2003, 6.

  43. Letter from Rivalda da Costa Santos, O GLOBO, December 23rd, 2003, 6.

  44. Letter from Wanda Viana de Mendonça, O GLOBO, February 23rd, 2003, 6.

  45. Letter from Wanda Viana de Mendonça, O GLOBO, February 23rd, 2003, 6.

  46. Letter from Rolando Figueira Paschoallette, O GLOBO, March 18th, 2004, 6.

  47. Letter from Paulo Caldas, O GLOBO, February 23rd, 2003 (emphasis added). The author concludes that “it takes time, resources, and competence to improve our education system... [so] that is why politicians are avoiding this issue and creating quotas instead.” Washington Bernardo de Amorim also claims that “quotas are the result of political incompetence combined to demagogy.” O GLOBO, September 22nd, 2004, 6.

  48. However the accusation that public universities are basically for the elite has been demystified. In some schools, such as Uerj, there are even more blacks and pardos than white students, who had studied in the public basic education system. Jose Murilo and Mônica Grin, “Mentiras e meias verdades,” O GLOBO, January 1st, 2004, 7.

  49. Letter from Walter Déda, O GLOBO, December 23rd, 2003, 6.

  50. Letter from Marcos Poggi, “Ainda as Cotas,” O GLOBO, November 11th, 2003, 6.

  51. Quoted in Ricardo Ventura Santos and Marcos Chor Maio, “Tribunal Racial,” O GLOBO, December 6th, 2004, 7. See also, Lucila Soares, “Retrato em Preto-e-Branco” Veja, April 21st, 2004, 75–76.

  52. There were several cases in which white candidates invoked old ancestors to classify themselves as pardos or blacks, and therefore take advantage of the quota system. In 2002, for example, a Jewish woman of Polish descent declared herself to be black to compete through the quota system for admission to the Uerj. See article “Não deu Certo” Veja, February 26th, 2003.

  53. Quoted in Ricardo Ventura Santos and Marcos Chor Maio, “Tribunal Racial,” O GLOBO, December 6th, 2004, 7.

  54. Quoted in Lisandra Paraguassú, “UnB terá vagas exclusivamente para negros,” O GLOBO, March 19th, 2004, 10.

  55. Ali Kamel, “We are not Racists,” O GLOBO, December 9th, 7 (emphasis added).

  56. Ali Kamel, “Racismo e Fraude,” O GLOBO, July 15th, 2004, 7.

  57. Ali Kamel, “Os Mesmos Erros,” O GLOBO, March 8th, 2005, 7.

  58. Letter from Joseph de Moura, O GLOBO, December 28th, 2004, 6 (emphasis added).

  59. José Roberto Pinto de Góes, “O racismo vira Lei,” O GLOBO, August 16th, 2004, 7 (emphasis added).

  60. José Roberto Pinto de Góes, “Cotas, um remédio que é veneno,” O Estado de São Paulo, April 13th, 2004.

  61. “Sem Preconceitos”, O GLOBO, January 10th, 2004, 6.

  62. Marcos Poggi, “Ainda as Cotas,” O GLOBO, November 11th, 2003 (emphasis added).

  63. “Agenda Importada,” O GLOBO, December 28th, 2004, 6 (emphasis added).

  64. Letter from Domingos de Saboya Barbosa Filho, O GLOBO, December 10th, 2003, 6 (emphasis added).

  65. Fry (2000), p. 89.

  66. See in this respect Gellner (1983).

  67. Bernardino (2002), 249.

  68. See Burdick (1998).

  69. Greenfeld and Chirot (1994).

  70. Reis (1997), for example, has suggested that affirmative action should be applied “socially” rather than “racially,” concentrating in reducing poverty.

  71. Da Matta (1997).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Independent Researcher, Brasília, Brazil

    Leone Campos de Sousa

  2. Institute of Political Science, University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Paulo Nascimento

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  1. Leone Campos de Sousa
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Correspondence to Leone Campos de Sousa.

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Campos de Sousa, L., Nascimento, P. Brazilian National Identity at a Crossroads: The Myth of Racial Democracy and the Development of Black Identity. Int J Polit Cult Soc 19, 129–143 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-008-9023-y

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