Racial democracy, also called social democracy or ethnic democracy, was a sociopolitical phenomenon that emerged in Brazil in the mid-1930s.
Although he did not use the nomenclature itself, the concept of racial democracy was introduced by Gilberto Freyre in his work entitled Casa-grande & Senzala, published in 1933.
The concept was based on the belief that relations between slaves and masters were cordial, and described race relations in Brazil as peaceful and friendly.
In comparison with the reality experienced by the United States, where there was strong racial segregation that took place through very violent means, it was concluded that Brazil was not racist.
Some scholars considered that Brazil was a country free from racial discrimination and that Brazilians did not make value judgments based on ethnicity.
It was also considered that the existing discrimination in Brazil was related to social classes.
Thus, it was believed that the reason that blacks occupy secondary jobs and that they generally live in great disparity compared to whites, it was related to the fact that they were part of lower social classes and not exactly to the fact of being black.
The myth of racial democracy in Brazilian society
Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist and author of the work big house and slave quarters (from 1933), was considered by many as the “father” of the idea of racial democracy in Brazil.
Gilberto Freyre (March 15, 1900 - July 18, 1987) (Author: R.uri/Creative Commons)
However, according to him, the fact that his work refers to a great miscegenation between ethnic groups in Brazil did not mean that discrimination did not exist at all in the Brazilian territory.
For Freyre, the continuous miscegenation that took place in Brazilian territory would be responsible for what he called meta-race.
Meta-race consisted of overcoming the concept of race itself, which came to be seen as an indifferent and exclusively biological factor.
Gilberto Freyre also developed a theory called the luso-tropicalism, which consisted of its own interpretation of how the integration of the Portuguese into the tropics would have happened.
Luso-Tropicalism argued that the Portuguese had integrated into the tropics through a colonization based on miscegenation, the evangelizing mission and cultural reciprocity.
Despite making it appear to have accepted and adopted this theory as real, the Portuguese regime never really incorporated it and only acted for its own sake.
For the Portuguese, Gilberto Freyre's theory served as a way out of the isolation in which they found themselves during the 50s and 60s, by making Portuguese colonialism transmit a positive idea of colonization philanthropic.
In 1976, Thomas Skidmore published a work called Black in white.
This work consisted of a study that questioned Brazilian race relations and analyzed whether the concept of racial democracy was really true.
Thomas considered that the idea of racial democracy was created by the Brazilian elite, mostly white, to camouflage an existing racial oppression.
One of the most prominent names regarding the myth of racial democracy and its consequences for Brazilian society is Florestan Fernandes.
Florestan Fernandes (July 22, 1920 - August 10, 1995) (Author: Antonio Milena)
Florestan was a Brazilian politician and sociologist who developed a series of studies with the aim of analyzing the supposed racial democracy in Brazil.
The sociologist ended up presenting several counterpoints that called into question the credibility of the concept of racial democracy.
Among them, some maladjustments related to the comparison of social positions of whites and blacks, which he attributed to remnants of slavery.
The situation of the black and the mulatto is not understood as a tabula rasa of the slave period and of what happened during the establishment of the competitive social order. [...] From a sociological point of view, what matters, in this background, is the fact that the population's black and mulatto stocks Brazil have not yet reached a level that favors their rapid integration into the occupational, social and cultural structures of the capitalism.
Florestan Fernandes believed that the myth of racial democracy had been built on two misconceptions:
- The understanding that miscegenation would be a form of social integration and as a symptom of racial fusion and equality.
- A confusion regarding the existence of patterns of racial tolerance that would predominate "in the sphere of social decorum with racial equality proper".
Despite this, Florestan believed that some points were favorable to the existence of a true racial democracy:
It is important, in the first place, to include the “black” and the “mulatto” (as other “ethnic, racial or nationals") in the programming of socioeconomic development and in projects aimed at increasing the effectiveness of national integration. Given the racial concentration of income, social prestige and power, the “population of color” has no vitality to face and resolve their moral problems. It is up to the government to raise alternatives, which would, in fact, come late. In these alternatives, schooling, employment level and population displacement would need to gain enormous importance. In short, there is a need for a program to combat poverty and its effects on this population.
a serious consequence of racial democracy for Brazilian society it was that it gave rise to an erroneous idea that there was no racial prejudice in Brazil and that citizens of all ethnic groups had the same rights and the same opportunities.
Only after several studies, this idea was demystified.
Know the meaning of democracy.
Miscegenation in Brazil
For some scholars, the miscegenation between Indians, blacks and whites was proof that the country did not have racist characteristics and that everyone related to everyone else.
Another line of thought asserts that miscegenation itself was a racist tactic to “purify” the ethnicity of the population.
This "purification" even came to constitute a political project aimed at whitening the people: on September 18, 1945, the government of Getúlio Vargas regulated the entry of immigrants into Brazil to meet the “need to preserve and develop, in the ethnic composition of the population, the most convenient characteristics of their ancestry European Union”.
This mixture of all ethnicities with the white color was intended, over the years and generations, to go “lightening” the skin color of the following generations.
This political project, by itself, made it clear that the belief in the existence of a racial democracy in the Brazil was a utopian idea, and that racism was even noticed through measures government agencies.
See the meaning of racism.
THE Cam's Redemption, an 1852 work that portrays the gradual "whitening" of generations.
See the meaning of race and ethnicity it's from miscegenation.
racism in Brazil
Racism in Brazil refers to a socio-political-economic structure that promotes inequalities based on ideals of racial hierarchy.
It is a system of oppression that denies opportunities for some social groups (mostly blacks and Indians) based on skin color and/or ethnicity (previously called race).
Racism emerged in Brazil along with the definition of colonial society.
The slavery of black Africans began in Brazilian territory in the beginning of the 16th century. Enslaved blacks were generally considered subhuman, and forced to live under a regime of social, political and economic degradation.
On the other side of the slavery scene, in leadership roles, were white Europeans who coordinated and indicated the activities to be performed by slaves.
During this period the idea of whites being superior, giving orders, taking decisions, etc., prevailed. and that blacks are inferior and limit themselves to obeying.
Racism becomes a crime in Brazil
In 1988, a law was created, law 7716, to define the crimes of racism.
Art. 5, inc. XLII of this law of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil of 1988, declares that “the practice of racism constitutes an unbailable and imprescriptible crime, subject to the penalty of imprisonment”.
In this way, it was established that racism is a crime for which there is no possibility of paying bail.
After the creation of law 7,716, other measures were created to ensure that people of different ethnicities could have access to the same rights, without discrimination: o Racial Equality Statute (created in 2010) and the Quota systemracial (created in mid 2000).
Racial Equality Statute
The Racial Equality Statute is a law enacted in 2010 by the then president of Brazil (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), which is intended to effectively guarantee the black people, equal opportunities, the defense of individual, collective and diffuse ethnic rights and the fight against discrimination and other forms of intolerance ethnic.
This statute defines the duty and posture of the State with regard to protecting the interests of Afro-Brazilian citizens.
Racial Quota System
The racial quota system consists of reserving places in public or private institutions for groups of certain ethnic groups, mainly blacks and Indians.
One of the objectives of the racial quota system is to reduce socioeconomic and educational inequalities in society.
It is likely that these inequalities have historical origins, since in the time of slavery, blacks and Indians had fewer opportunities.
The University of Brasília (UnB) was the first Brazilian university to implement the racial quota system for blacks, in 2004.
Over the years, virtually all universities have made available part of their vacancies to the quota system, which, in general, does not only encompass the racial quotas as quotas for students who attended high school at a public institution, low-income and disabled students.
After the implementation of the quota system, the total number of blacks and browns who completed graduation increased from 2.2% in 2000 to 9.3% in 2017.
According to Inep (National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira), the number of black students enrolling in undergraduate courses increased from 11% in 2011 to 30% in 2016.
Although the possibility of completing a degree has increased by almost four times for the black population, according to with data from the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the rate of black graduates is not yet comparable to that of whites.
Therefore, it is clear that there is still a long way to go towards the main objective: the reduction of inequality.
Still, part of the population is against quotas.
Some people believe that quotas end up reinforcing prejudice, implying that those who use them do not have the capacity to achieve certain achievements by themselves.
Creation of laws 10,639/03 and 11,64508
Law 10.639/03 was enacted on January 9, 2003 and its creation regulated that the teaching about Afro-Brazilian history and culture mandatory in all schools, regardless of whether education is public or private.
The inclusion of these studies was implemented from Elementary School to High School in subjects that already were part of the national curriculum, mainly in the areas of Artistic Education and Literature and History Brazilians.
The law also established November 20 as the National Day of Black Awareness, a day dedicated to combating racial prejudice in Brazil.
This date was chosen as a way to pay homage to Zumbi dos Palmares, the quilombola leader who died on that day. Zumbi was one of the pioneers in the resistance against slavery.
On March 10, 2008, law 11,645 expanded the action of law 10,639 and included as mandatory the teaching about indigenous history and culture.
The creation of these laws was an important and necessary measure for the construction of a more racially conscious and democratic Brazilian society.
See too:
- Racial prejudice
- Equality
- Black conscience day
- Discrimination