by John Fitzpatrick

Two or three years ago, a black American executive of a major U.S. bank, which has been active in Brazil for over 50 years, visited São Paulo and asked to meet some of the bank's black managers. He was shocked to learn that there were none as, according to the local bosses, none of the bank's black employees had the necessary qualifications. In typical can-do American style, the executive returned to the U.S., where the bank was much more politically correct, raised a fuss, and nowadays this bank has a scheme to groom its black Brazilian staff.

Few other institutions, Brazilian or foreign, take this approach and so it was heartening to see the government, for once, taking the initiative and announcing that concrete steps would be taken to try and improve the lot of black Brazilians. The Agriculture Ministry announced in September that it intended to make sure that 20 percent of all outsourced workers were black. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said recently that this quota would be extended to the Justice Ministry, and a committee will look into extending it to other areas of government. In Rio de Janeiro, state legislators recently voted to reserve 40 percent of seats in state universities for black students.

These moves – modest and late as they are in a country where at least 50 percent of the population is black – have come under strong attack by critics who see them as being "un-Brazilian". Many Brazilians do not like to be compared to the U.S. and say their history is different: what is applicable there, they believe, is not necessarily applicable here. Critics of the proposed changes, virtually all of whom are not black, say such a step would be reverse discrimination and penalize workers and employees who are more competent than their black counterparts.

It is important to stress here that the opponents of these measures are not racist. They do not hate black people, nor do they want to see them downtrodden. They are proud of their Brazilian culture, which is highly influenced by African elements. They probably have more day-to-day personal contact with black people than their American counterparts.

No Helping Hand 
However, they do not want to give their black countrymen a helping hand. My theory is that this attitude derives from the backgrounds of these people, who are mainly the descendants of immigrants who arrived here with nothing and worked hard to build a future for the present generation. The average inhabitant of São Paulo still has the mentality of an immigrant, who is afraid that he will lose all the benefits he has gained. That is why he works as hard and docilely as any Japanese salaryman, and puts up with the frustrations and fears of living in one of the world's ugliest and most unsafe cities. He gets no help from the government, no security from the police and has to do everything himself. He does not see why others should get a free ride. "There but for fortune" is how he sees things. If a person does not make the effort on his own then he will not advance. Our average Paulistano is also suspicious of any government initiative because the government only takes from him and gives nothing in return. He does not see quotas as a philanthropic way of trying to resolve a past injustice, but another method of political patronage that will be abused.

The opposition view is being more widely disseminated in the media than the reformist. The Estado de S. Paulo newspaper recently published a long article criticizing the proposals, which led to a reply by one of the few black members of the Lower House of Congress. Although the Estado published the reply as a letter to the editor, it made sure the original writer was given ample space to reply to the Congressman. So much for letting the reader have the last word. By presenting a slanted coverage of the issue, the media will strengthen opposition and reduce support. The powerful opposition forces will do their best to wreck the proposals.  

This shows that the kind of progress blacks have made in the U.S., with help from government initiatives, will not be so easily attained in Brazil. At the same time, opponents will be aided by the apparent indifference of most black Brazilians, who are not nearly as well organized or politically aware as their American counterparts. They have no strong political leaders, and the country's best known black person, Pele, was Sports Minister for several years but never involved himself in political controversy concerning the plight of black Brazilians. Political parties are also wary of making race an issue. The left-wing PT is the obvious standard bearer of the country's blacks, in their downtrodden position, but it has no noteworthy high-profile black leaders. 

There have been a few rare examples of protest, but with no political organization behind them. Recently a group of black models held a demonstration at an upmarket São Paulo fashion show, complaining that only white models were being employed. In a smart Rio de Janeiro shopping center protesters urged shoppers to boycott shops that did not employ black staff. These may seem trivial, but they highlight the public disrespect that black people endure here. The absence of black faces and role models on television, magazine covers and in non-manual jobs is astonishing to any foreigner.

Black is Beautiful – in Moderation
At the same time, personalities and celebrities like to associate themselves with blackness, which is chic. Even President Cardoso likes to say he has "a foot in the kitchen" as a way of acknowledging that he is of mixed race. The magazine Veja published an article in 2001 in which a number of well-known people were genetically tested, in such a way as to show their racial ancestry. Several, including new age writer Paulo Coelho, expressed disappointment that they had no Indian or black blood.   
     
As everyone knows, Brazil is a racial melting pot where every genetic mixture is apparent on the faces of people you pass in the street. Take indigenous Indians, imported African slaves, early white settlers, later immigrants from Europe, the Middle East and Japan, plus ongoing immigration from Korea and China (and, in January, refugees from Afghanistan) and you have an idea. However, Brazil is not unique. Virtually every South American and Caribbean country, as well as the U.S. and South Africa, has the same diverse ethnic mixture. If Brazilians were to lose the idea that theirs is the only multi-racial country in the world where everyone lives in harmony, then it could be the starting point for resolving the disgraceful status of the country's black population.

One of the problems of introducing racial quotas is how to define who is black. This is difficult due to the different ways of looking at the question. Compare, for example, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and the American Secretary of State Colin Powell. Both have similar racial origins and appearance, although Powell has more African features, yet whereas Powell is considered black in the U.S., Cardoso is regarded as white in Brazil. If Cardoso were an American politician he would be probably regarded as a black leader.
The Americans have got round this problem by simply deciding that anyone who is not completely white is black. This does not always make sense and means that sometimes, Latin American immigrants are regarded as "blacks" whether they like it or not. However, most "blacks" seem to accept it. The days when people of mixed race tried to deny the black element appear to have gone. If Brazil were to adopt a similar system (imperfect as it is), then it would have at least a foundation on which to implement any quota system.

Brazil could also look at how the system has evolved in the U.S. In fact, it has worked so well that moves are being made to dismantle parts of it. Brazil could also look at places like the U.K., which has had an anti-racial discrimination law for 30 years, although blacks make up a tiny minority of the population, or France, where black people are totally integrated into the labour market and government bureaucracy. What Brazil cannot do is sit back, pretend that racial harmony exists and do nothing. 

December 22, 2002 
 
© John Fitzpatrick 2002