The Color of Child Mortality in Brazil, 1950–2000: Social Progress and Persistent Racial Inequality

Abstract

Now that racism has been officially recognized in Brazil, and some universities have adopted affirmative-action admission policies, measures of the magnitude of racial inequality and analyses that identify the factors associated with changes in racial disparities over time assume particular relevance to the conduct of public debate. This study uses census data from 1950 to 2000 to estimate the probability of death in the early years of life, a robust indicator of the standard of living among the white and Afro-Brazilian populations. Associated estimates of the average number of years of life expectancy at birth show that the 6.6-year advantage that the white population enjoyed in the 1950s remained virtually unchanged throughout the second half of the twentieth century, despite the significant improvements that accrued to both racial groups. The application of multivariate techniques to samples selected from the 1960, 1980, and 2000 census enumerations further shows that, controlling for key determinants of child survival, the white mortality advantage persisted and even increased somewhat in 2000. The article discusses evidence of continued racial inequality during an era of deep transformation in social structure, with reference to the challenges of skin color classification in a multiracial society and the evolution of debates about color, class, and discrimination in Brazil.

Biodiversity is overlooked in the diets of different social groups in Brazil

“…We used the variable 'ethnicity' in two ways: (1) for descriptive analysis in its original form, using the categories of the national survey, including white, black, asian, multiethnic, or indigenous; and (2) for the models, we recategorized it into 'white' and 'non-white'. The latter category (i.e., non-white) included black, asian, multiethnic, and indigenous groups to create a group that potentially combines similar experiences of oppression based on race, as described in Wood et al 19 (source: 10.1017/S0023879100009377) and Skidmore 20 (source: 10.1017/S0022216X00004703). The IBGE survey measured food insecurity according to the reduced eight item version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA), the official Brazilian tool to determine food insecurity levels in the population.…”

Ethnoracial inequalities and child mortality in Brazil: a nationwide longitudinal study of 19 million newborn babies

“…11,12 In Brazil, extreme inequality is driven by class, gender, and race or ethnicity, 5 and ethnoracial inequalities in child survival have been documented between 1950 and 2000. 13,14 No nationally representative study of ethnoracial inequalities in child survival has been identified after this period. This analysis aimed to examine childhood mortality rates according to maternal race or skin colour in a recent 6-year follow-up of a cohort of more than 19 million Brazilian children, in an effort to inform political decisions and public health interventions to reduce ethnoracial inequality in child health.…”