MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
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Brazil’s Supreme Court confirms university quota system for Afro-descendents
Justice Joaquim Barbosa, the only Afro-descendant in the court in a country were over half the population is black Brazil’s Supreme Court voted unanimously to permit a quota system that would favour Afro-descendants in entering universities, ending an eight-year legal battle.
Brazil has the largest black population in the world outside of Africa, but years of marginalization and exclusion in the 124 years since the country outlawed slavery has kept this population on the sidelines.
The 10-judge court was responding to a 2009 complaint filed by the right-wing Democrats or DEM party that sought to block a program by the University of Brasilia instated in 2004 that reserved 20% of its seats for black students.
“The racial oppression of Brazilian slave society left scars that are reflected by the differentiation of Afro-descendants” said Justice Luiz Fux. “The injustice of the system is absolutely intolerable. Long live the Afro-descendant nation!”
More than half of Brazil’s population of 191 million people is black. More than 70% of Brazil’s 98 public universities have race-based quotas in place. Rio de Janeiro State University was the first one to apply them in 2001.
Justice Joaquim Barbosa, the only Afro-descendant in the court, said that the debated measures taken by the University of Brasilia are aiming to “combat not only the flagrant manifestations of discrimination but also the discrimination that is absolutely ingrained in the society and so much so that people don’t even realize its existence”.
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Read all commentsThis is stupid. all (public) Federal Universities should be wide open for all Brasilians who qualify to be there. Actually they already are. Private Universities does not have to play this stupid game.
May 18th, 2012 - 05:11 am 0-Brazil has the largest black population in the world outside of Africa.
Old story of history. Yeah Brasil had, but majority mixed with other ethnic groups. That is fact. Look it up in IBGE.
-More than half of Brazil’s population of 191 million people is black.
Not true at all. Where Mercopress get info from? copy paste from stupid americans who know nothing of my country? Brasil has over 200 million people. Majority are white and mixed people and have no problems. Brasil is multi cultural. Pure black people is today small like pure asian people and Brasil indian.
There is racism, but not big like in USA.
Quotas don't create an equitable solution - they just compound discrimination. The solution is to implement laws that ensure all candidates are selected on merit only - thoughout the entire education system.
May 18th, 2012 - 08:22 am 0“More than half of Brazil’s population of 191 million people is black.” I second Sullivan's words. This would be true only if we adopted the one-drop rule, which is an American rather than a Brazilian criterion. This decision is a colossal step backwards.
May 18th, 2012 - 01:02 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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