Racial Inequality and Legislation in Brazil's Congress
Andrew Janusz is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Florida and a WBO research fellow. His research focuses on elections and political representation in Brazil. He has published several articles in peer-reviewed outlets and is currently writing a book on racial politics in Brazil. This text was originally written for issue 90 of the WBO Newsletter, published on October 27, 2023. Fill in the form at the bottom of the text to access and subscribe to the WBO weekly newsletter in English.
Brazil is home to the largest African descendant population of any country outside of Africa. Despite comprising a majority of the Brazilian population, though, politics is dominated by whites. At the local, state, and national levels, elected officials are overwhelmingly white. The more prestigious and powerful the office, the lower the chances that an Afro-Brazilian holds power. According to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, in 2022, only 26 percent of the politicians elected to the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower house of Congress, identified as Afro-Brazilian. Fewer still attained seats in the Federal Senate. Just 5 of the 27 Senators elected in 2022 to Brazil’s upper house of Congress identified themselves as Afro-Brazilian.
Following each election, media outlets in Brazil dutifully report that Afro-Brazilians are underrepresented and speculate about why. What is it that is keeping Afro-Brazilians out of office? Is their underrepresentation due to insufficient opportunity, a lack of resources, or discrimination? What traditionally receives passing attention, however, is why Afro-Brazilian representation “matters.” Some Brazilians contend that it doesn’t. Several politicians have personally told me that whether a legislator is white or Afro-Brazilian says nothing about what they do in office and claimed that white legislators are capable of representing the interests of Brazil’s nonwhite citizens. Others, however, maintain that the racial composition of Congress affects how it looks, it determines who it serves.
Brazilian legislators have broad discretion over the policy issues they focus on, but scarce time and energy. They simply cannot devote themselves to every issue. As a result, they dedicate themselves to addressing the problems they are knowledgeable and passionate about -- issues that affect them on a personal level. Among the issues that personally affect Afro-Brazilian lawmakers is racial discrimination. In her memoir, Benedita da Silva, the first Afro-Brazilian woman elected to Congress, not only recounts a variety of times she personally suffered racial discrimination but also how those experiences shaped her priorities.
“I know the position of blacks in this country. From the time I was tiny, I was made to feel my place. I learned to go in through the back door. I was told I was ugly because I had crinkly hair and black skin...I have a special responsibility to speak out on the subjects that I know about - against racial discrimination, against the unequal rights of women and against the injustices suffered by the poor. (Riding 1987).”
Benedita da Silva, the first Afro-Brazilian woman elected to Congress
Benedita Da Silva’s congressional record demonstrates that her comments are not cheap talk. Over her career, she has sponsored a number of bills on racial issues as well as publicly spoken out against racism. While she has distinguished herself as a strong proponent of Afro-Brazilians, she is not the only one. According to data on bill sponsorship, between 1995 and 2022 Afro-Brazilian legislators were significantly more likely to sponsor legislation that addresses the material needs of the Afro-Brazilian community and bills that valorize blackness in Brazilian society.
Not all Afro-Brazilian legislators, however, are committed to advocating for Afro-Brazilians. Some see it as unnecessary. Hélio Lopes, an Afro-Brazilian congressional representative and Bolsonaro ally, for example, publicly proclaimed that “There is no racism in Brazil. Brazil is not a racist country.” In contrast to many other Afro-Brazilian legislators, he is also opposed to affirmative action policies that take into account race. He stated, “I am totally against racial quotas. My children are black, but they have to compete on equal terms. Do you know why? Because poverty has no color. If they are going to give a social quota, it has to be because of vulnerability.” In Brazil, however, poverty does have a color -- Black. As noted in the WBO annual report, Afro-Brazilians are significantly poorer than their white counterparts. Expanding access to education though quotas though has the potential to change this. As noted by my colleagues, higher education is the most effective tool for social mobility.
Not all Afro-Brazilian lawmakers are committed to advancing a racial agenda. Importantly, though, not all white lawmakers are opposed to it. In 2012, when affirmative action policies were first implemented, most white lawmakers voted in favor of them. White lawmakers affiliated with leftwing parties like the PT and PSOL routinely support race-conscious legislation. Their support is consequential. Due to racial disparities in political representation, Afro-Brazilian lawmakers cannot advance the legislation they propose without their help. They simply do not have the votes.
Afro-Brazilians make a difference in the policymaking process. They have different policy interests, preferences, and priorities than their white counterparts. But the policies that are debated, voted on, and ultimately enacted are conditional on elected assemblies as a whole. When Afro-Brazilians have little representation, their needs are likely to be left off the national agenda and the policies that are implemented can be expected to reinforce racial inequality.
