“Brazil cannot stop”: Meritocratic ideology in an unequal country

Abstract

This essay reflects on the measures adopted by the Brazilian government in the scope of education amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This reflection is necessary for the field of organizational studies, as such administrative actions in view of the pandemic can interfere directly in the formation of young Brazilians and their allocation in different positions in the labor market. One must think critically about the impacts that exclusionary, low-quality education can have on the exclusion of certain groups and their precarious access to job opportunities. We believe that the measures adopted by the Brazilian government reflect the society's structural racism and that institutional racism practiced by the Ministry of Education and Culture.Government actions based on meritocratic discourses during a pandemic contribute to the maintenance of group privileges and dominance, the marginalization of subordinated groups, and the aggravation of social and racial inequalities.

Making black lives don't matter via organizational strategies to avoid the racial debate: The military police in Brazil

“…In Brazil, the meritocratic ideology is prevalent (Mesquita & Bezerra, 2020). Police officers seem to share the “myths of meritocracy” (McNamee & Miller, 2004) regarding entry and access to higher hierarchical positions within the force.…”