The racial quotas policy at public universities in Brazil, two decades later

an analysis

Abstract

The racial quotas policy was adopted at the first Brazilian public universities in 2002 and sanctioned as a government policy ten years later, based on a wide-ranging discussion process involving government and civil society organizations. Almost two decades after the first initiatives, implemented in the midst of controversies, disputes and contrary reactions, it is possible to analyse the impacts of this policy, considering historical information, guidelines defended by movements of the black population, empirical data from universities and further reflections on the political options that gave rise to this affirmative action. The historical recovery deepens the roots of situations of social vulnerability that victimize most of the black population today, analysing critically the slavery in the country and the gaps in government support for slaves and their descendants. Information from the Demographic Census and the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) show the numbers and colors of racial inequality today, recognizing the blacks and the poor ones practically as synonyms. And data on the quota policy make it possible to see a significant increase in the access of black students to higher education; the maintenance of the academic quality, with the presence of quota holders; the expansion of educational opportunities and social insertion to the black and poor population; and greater representation of Brazilian society in public universities. Finally, this affirmative action is situated in the broader context of the political options necessary for the process of improving democracy in Brazil.