On Black Awareness Day, celebrated on November 20, it is essential to reflect on what it means to be a diverse country and how to transform this diversity into an instrument of equality. In Brazil, the majority of the population is made up of black people, women and other historically marginalized groups, but this composition is still not fairly reflected in social indicators, opportunities or positions of power.

The theme was explored in the RenovaBR 2024 Elections training, with professors Clara Marinho and Helton Souto. The training had 2,103 new students and welcomed 96 alumni.

The search for a fair and representative society

Clara Marinho, a human rights researcher and professor at RenovaBR, reports that Brazil faces an enormous challenge in promoting a fair and egalitarian society. She points out that the country has one of the worst income distribution rates in the world, comparable to India, marked by its caste system, and South Africa, which faced apartheid. “Brazil is often among the countries with the worst income distribution, along with these two, and, in addition, it has enormous difficulty in intergenerational mobility. This means that it is very difficult for a person born poor to move up to another social class over the course of their life,” emphasizes Clara Marinho.

She also highlights how our differences become inequalities, mainly affecting women and young black people. “Brazil takes the life of a young black person every 28 minutes. These rates are very close to those recorded in war zones, which requires the implementation of effective public policies by the entire Brazilian society,” argues Clara. For her, it is necessary to go beyond words and guarantee substantive equality, which considers the particularities and specific needs of the population.

Representation in spaces of power 

Although the majority of the Brazilian population is made up of black people, this reality is not yet reflected in spaces of power. According to federal deputy and RenovaBR alumni, Gisela Simona, “the vast majority of the Brazilian population is made up of black and brown people, but in parliament we are only 24% of the total representatives. Being there already represents a great step forward in showing the black community in general that it is possible to seek this space of representation and fight for affirmative action, affirmative policies, inclusion, and less discrimination.”

During the Regional Meeting of the 2024 Elections training, which took place in Brasília, the deputy reinforced that this representation is essential so that black people do not see themselves as a minority, but rather realize that Brazil also belongs to them. 

“All of this is very important for society, so that black people do not actually see themselves as a minority, but rather that they can truly feel in their skin that this is Brazil, it is ours, and we need to be represented in this very important space of power,” he concluded. 

The need to look at history

Helton Souto, a professor at RenovaBR and representative of the Instituto da Cor, emphasizes the importance of understanding the historical roots of structural racism in Brazil. “The country is less white than the way it is structured. It is less white than the way opportunities are distributed in Brazilian society — opportunities that are constructed, disadvantaged and, often, channeled to a minority of the population, to the detriment of the majority.” For him, it is necessary for Brazilian society to recognize the consequences left by more than 300 years of slavery and work to change this reality.

Souto also states that the fight for racial equality is not an ideological issue, but a logical one. “If we have data that shows that the majority of the population is black and that this majority is the most vulnerable, then public policies need to meet this need. Otherwise, they will not fulfill their role.”

The Federal Constitution establishes as one of the country’s objectives the construction of a fair and caring society that promotes the well-being of all, without prejudice based on origin, color, sex or any other form of discrimination. The fight for substantive equality is, therefore, a collective obligation and a commitment by all so that Brazil can, in fact, recognize itself as a truly diverse and inclusive country. “Diversity and inclusion are supported by our constitutional framework. It is not enough to simply guarantee the right on paper. It is necessary to consider the specific characteristics and needs of the population”, concludes Clara Marinho.