Rise and Fall of the Anti-Racism Agenda in Brazil from Lula to Bolsonaro

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the Brazilian state addressed the racial issue by developing a number of anti-racist laws, policies, and institutions. The rise of the anti-racism agenda began with Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s government, growing even greater under Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Nonetheless, further developments on this agenda have been halted since Michel Temer came to power in 2016, and the agenda as a whole is now undergoing a dismantling mode. This essay discusses how the dismantling of the anti-racism agenda has reverberated into the current institutional, political, and social crisis in Brazil. In consideration of this problem, I map out color-related characteristics of the Brazilian crisis through qualitative and quantitative data ranging from Lula to Bolsonaro years. I use past and present data to compare two processes: the previous shaping and the current dismantling of anti-racist public policies.

Inclusion amid ethnic inequality: Insights from Brazil's social protection system

“…Previous officials who worked within the Lula and Dilma Rousseff administrations argue that they moved the needle on 'racial inclusion'. But as Mesquita (2021) argues, the administrative reforms that opened the door for anti-racism policy largely stalled after 2016 due to budgetary pressures and ministerial reorganizing during Dilma's administration, and came to a standstill after her impeachment and the rise of right-wing presidents Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro. President Bolsonaro's well-documented racism towards indigenous, black and brown Brazilians 22 means advocates for racial inclusion lost space within the federal apparatus.…”