Public Opinion on Nonwhite Underrepresentation and Racial Identity Politics in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has an “African‐origin” population that is proportionally more than four times larger that of African Americans in the United States, but white Brazilians mostly dominate electoral politics. How do ordinary citizens explain this phenomenon? Drawing on a large‐sample survey of public opinion in the state of Rio de Janeiro, this article explores perceived explanations for nonwhite underrepresentation in the political arena. It also examines attitudes toward a particular black candidate, Benedita da Silva, to discern the state of negro identity politics. Most Brazilians in Rio de Janeiro cite racial prejudice to explain nonwhite exclusion, although whites do this less than nonwhites. Indicators of a racial undercurrent in political preferences suggest the importance of allegiances based on perceived common racial origins. Class is robustly associated with voting preferences, suggesting that, in contrast to the United States, class differences among nonwhites in Brazil could attenuate the success of negro identity politics.

Race, Resources, and Representation: Evidence from Brazilian Politicians

“…5 Dancygier et al compare immigrant and native candidates in Sweden who have comparable individual resources and face similar political opportunity structures; they attribute the greater electoral success among natives to discrimination by party elites in the design of party lists. 6 Yet, it is rare to look at behavioral, institutional, and resource-based explanations for political inequality in a single study, as we do here. 7 Our results underscore that we should not study these alternatives in isolation: in our study, the importance of resource differentials is magnified by the inability of behavioral or institutional arguments to explain the patterns we document.…”

The Marketization of Identity Politics

“…Following Barack Obama’s re-election, all agreed that identity politics was a game-changer in the elections, and that articulations of collective victimhood, authenticity, and conflicting interests revealed that America was anything but ‘postracial’ (Goodwin, 2012; Younge, 2010). Although – in the wake of a successful multiracial movement, a growing presence of Latinos, and scientific statements against race – racial categories have blurred (Hochschild et al, 2012; Roth, 2012), political campaigns still heavily rely on racial framing (Bailey, 2009; Harvey-Wingfield and Feagin, 2012).…”

Race, Resources, and Representation

“…e.g.,Bueno and Fialho 2009;hunter and power 2007;Bailey 2009. 33 see guimarães telles 2004; hanchard 1999; twine 1998; also, Freyre 1980 also, Freyre [1933.34 telles 2004.…”

“…9 e.g., acemoglu and Robinson 2008. 10 exceptions includeJohnson 1998 and Johnson 2006;Mitchell 2009a andMitchell 2009b;Bailey 2009; castro 1993;and soares and do Valle silva 1987.…”