Brazil Backs Up Its Affirmative Action Program

The Democrats, a political group in Brazil, recently challenged Brazil’s constitution in the country’s top court. The case the Democrats brought was to determine whether or not its Affirmative Action program should continue to be part of the modern education system. Affirmative Action is active in over 1,000 Brazilian universities, and if Affirmative Action programs were to change, many Brazilian Universities would be greatly affected.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Brazil voted seven to one (with three abstentions) in favor of upholding the 2005 federal scholarship program that gives money to both black students and biracial students.

Many believe that Affirmative Action is still needed in the country. According to the 2010 census, less than five percent of black Brazilians had a university degree in 2009, which has almost doubled from the 2.3% of blacks around 2000. Brazil has a long history of racism, too. As one Toronto Professor said, “Today has a high degree of inequality by skin color…the country has long been known for…its historical lack of race-conscious policies throughout the 20th century.”

Opponents of Affirmative Action programs claim that the need to fill quotas in universities is just another form of racism. Continuing to create programs that target people based on skin color could just continue to separate people all over the country.

Norma Odara, a biracial 20-year-old student (who considers herself black), offers a solution, saying that quotas are merely temporary fixes, and what the government should be spending money on is solid educational programs in primary schools – a place where many black Brazilian children already study. In time, these students will be able to attend universities based on their own achievements and not from the assistance of an Affirmative Action program.

Creative Commons Love: dcJohn on Flickr.com

Written by Jana Melpolder