Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05RIODEJANEIRO1248
2005-12-15 16:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Cable title:  

AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS DEBUNK MYTH OF RACIAL

Tags:  PREL SOCI PGOV BR 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIO DE JANEIRO 001248 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SOCI PGOV BR
SUBJECT: AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS DEBUNK MYTH OF RACIAL
DEMOCRACY IN BRAZIL

Summary
-------

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIO DE JANEIRO 001248

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SOCI PGOV BR
SUBJECT: AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS DEBUNK MYTH OF RACIAL
DEMOCRACY IN BRAZIL

Summary
--------------


1. Two prominent members of the Afro-Brazilian community
sat down with members of the Hyde CODEL (septel) on December
1 to discuss the business and political climate for black
Brazilians. In a wide-ranging discussion, they explained
how Brazil's electoral and educational systems work to
prevent Afro Brazilians from accumulating political and
economic power. The legacy of slavery also has hurt,
depriving entrepreneurial blacks of family inheritances with
which to launch businesses. Societal discrimination has
limited job opportunities as well, because blacks are rarely
hired for publicly-visible jobs, they said. Nevertheless,
the participants identified numerous areas in which Afro-
American and Afro-Brazilian businesses can forge stronger
trading links, to help bring wealth and success to
struggling communities. Overall, race in Brazil is a complex
subject, in part because miscegenation (racial mixing) over
subsequent generations has made it difficult to identify and
categorize individuals according to skin color. End
Summary.


2. Jurema Batista, the first Afro-Brazilian woman to serve
in the Rio de Janeiro State Assembly, and Giovanni Harvey,
director of an institution assisting young Afro-Brazilian
entrepreneurs, sat down with members of the Hyde CODEL on
December 1 to discuss business opportunities and the
political climate for Brazil's black population. American
participants included Representative Mel Watt (D-NC),Tom
Lantos (D-Cal),Diane Watson (D-CAL),Luis Fortuno (R-PR),
Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS),their staff members, as well as the
Charge d'Affaires, the Consul General, Poloff, Commercial
Officer, and Conoff, note taker.

Electoral System, Legacy of Slavery Impede
-------------- --------------


3. After introductions, Rio State Assemblywoman Batista
opened by noting the disproportionately low numbers of
blacks in business and politics. (Note: Estimates of the
overall number of Brazilian blacks vary. Our participants
offered the figure of 45 percent of the total population -
an estimate at the high end of the spectrum. End Note.) The
electoral system presents an informal barrier to the
accumulation of political power, Batista explained. Because
Brazilians tend to vote according to name recognition rather

than party affiliation, candidates need to have access to
wealth in order to be able to disseminate their name and
publicize their platform to the masses. As a result,
electoral winners are the ones who can "buy" the most votes
by carrying out short-term community programs during the
campaign. These programs are naturally targeted at poorer,
more populated areas, which tend to be black. Such
communities are the most vulnerable to this type of
campaigning, since state-provided services are often lacking
there. The longer-term result is that wealthy candidates,
who are almost always white, are able to propagate
themselves in power.


4. Both Brazilian participants said that the legacy of
slavery has hurt Afro-Brazilian entrepreneurship. "We have
no legacy of inheritance," explained Harvey, whose business
development firm is called the Brazilian Business Incubator.
"Most people from my generation have no inherited resources,
so how can they start their own businesses?" Discriminatory
hiring practices are an additional barrier, as blacks are
often passed over for jobs with visibility because,
according to Harvey, employers prefer individuals with
lighter skin tones in positions that interface with the
public. "Racial democracy is a myth," declared Batista.
"What we have here is non-formal apartheid."

Education System Favors the Wealthy
-------------- --------------


5. In response to a question from Representative Watt about
educational opportunities, the participants explained how
Brazil's peculiar education system disadvantages the poor.
Because of low pay, Brazil's public secondary schools do not
tend to attract the best teachers. As a result, middle and
upper class Brazilians usually send their children to
private schools, which better prepare their graduates for
Brazil's rigorous university entrance examination, the
vestibular. Those who excel on the test tend to enroll in
public universities, which are considered the best in Brazil
- and they are tuition-free. The ironic result of this
system is that the students who pay the least for a
university education tend to be from families who can afford
to pay the most. Intelligent, hard-working black students
are placed at a disadvantage if their families cannot send
them to private secondary schools; if they cannot get into a
public university, they suffer a double whammy, because now
they must pay for a private university education. Many
cannot afford it.

Forging Stronger Links With Afro-American Business
-------------- --------------


6. Several CODEL members asked Harvey to identify areas in
which Afro-American and Afro-Brazilian businessmen could
forge stronger trade relationships. "We've been looking for
U.S. partners for 15 years, but earlier we did it the wrong
way," he responded. Tourism and arts-and-crafts have the
most potential, he explained, but "initially I was resistant
because I wanted high value-added products. But this isn't
the reality of Brazil. These areas have been successful. and
we have to be pragmatic." Other areas worth exploring
include gastronomy, civil construction, beauty products,
retail businesses, transportation, and education and non-
governmental organization (NGO) initiatives.


7. "Brazil is often mentioned as a country of the future,"
Harvey concluded. "This will only come true when the black
segment can share power. We want a more comfortable place
here. We want to take the future in our hands."

Comment
--------------


8. Racial discrimination definitely exists at the societal
level in Brazil. Laws are on the books prohibiting it, and
many Brazilians note that Brazil has tried harder than many
multi-ethnic countries to foster a sense of racial equality.
Members of different races mix in relaxed fashion and
interracial relationships are common. Nevertheless, as our
participants noted, significant (and in some cases systemic)
impediments remain. Even getting a firm grip on the issue
is a challenge; the historical mixing of groups dating back
to colonial times makes it far more difficult to determine
one's race here than in, say, the United States. Millions of
Brazilians who in the U.S. might be considered blacks
identify themselves as of mixed-race (or "mulatto") origin,
for a number of reasons. Finally, many individuals of all
colors reject state- or societal-imposed racial
categorization schemes, preferring to identify themselves
simply as Brazilians. The CODEL conversation illuminated
many of the challenges Afro-Brazilians face, but some of the
opinions expressed did not necessarily represent unanimously-
held views - even among non-white Brazilians.

LIST