U.S. election inspires hope for 'Obama effect' in Brazil
By Bradley Brooks | The Associated Press
December 8, 2008
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - What struck the Brazilian woman most forcibly as she watched U.S. election-night returns on television was seeing Barack Obama's two young daughters.
"I can't believe those two little girls with hair like mine will be in the White House," said Carolina Iootty Dias.
Black Brazilians like Dias, 31, a human rights worker, celebrated Obama's election as giving hope worldwide. But the country that prides itself on racial mixing and tolerance is also being forced to take a reality check.
Though half of Brazil's 190 million people are black — the world's largest black population outside Nigeria — power remains firmly in the hands of whites. The country has few blacks in top political positions, and government studies consistently show blacks in Brazil earn half as much as whites.
"This Brazilian hypocrisy that says racism does not exist is one of the things that keeps the nation from advancing," said Stepan Nercessian, an actor and Rio de Janeiro city councilman, who is white.
Latin America's largest country has long looked down its nose at the racial discord in the United States. But Obama's election is making Brazilians look inward, with some arguing that an American-style struggle is exactly what Brazil is missing.
"I think it is important for young black Brazilians to know how the civil rights movement progressed in the U.S. and how it produced not just Obama, but blacks at the highest levels of American businesses," said Edson Santos, Brazil's minister of racial equality, who is black. "It is important that they have contact with this reality."
Glaucia Carvalho Oliveira is one of those young people.
"All of a sudden, Obama has arrived and taken us to the next level," she said as she assembled her snack stand on Rio's Copacabana beach. "We black Brazilians need him as much as the Americans do."
Brazil and the United States were two of the largest slave-owning societies in the Americas. Brazil freed its slaves in 1888, the last country in the Americas to do so. In that year it abolished all its race laws, while American blacks had to fight for more than 100 years after they were freed to gain full rights as citizens.
Black and white Brazilians mix easily in both marriage and social venues, from soccer matches to samba clubs. Beyond the half of the population that is black, most Brazilians are of mixed ancestry and have a census category, parda.
No such category exists in the U.S. census. Obama, who is half white and identifies as black, could call himself parda if he were Brazilian.
Despite Brazil's social ease around race, many argue that its blacks simply moved from the slave quarters to the slums.
They are only 3 percent of Brazil's college graduates. Only one senator among 81 is black, which mirrors the U.S. breakdown, except that blacks are only 13 percent of the U.S. population.
Blacks only started organizing in the past 40 years, said Reginaldo Lima, who is black and directs AfroReggae, which works on race and violence issues in Rio's slums.
Six years ago the country elected its first blue-collar president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a white man who enjoys huge support among blacks. Only two of his 28 government ministers are black.
Many whites play down the prejudice in Brazil, saying the inequalities are economic.
"We see people not as black or white. We don't look at a black person and think they are not as capable as whites," said medical secretary Liliane Lyra, 43. "It is more a social problem that separates the races here, a lack of opportunity for the poor."
But Alannah Xavier, 26, says her black skin, not her economic status, keeps her from getting work as a model in Brazil.
"You know where I work the most? In Germany ... a nation that is supposedly so racist with its Nazi past," said Xavier. "Here in Brazil they only have work for blondes."
Since Silva took office, there have been positive changes, notably affirmative action in the university system.
Lima says Obama's election will help.
"Barack Obama represents what every black person in the world has been hoping for: that the fight of the dream for racial equality in North America can spread to the entire world," he said.
Others doubt there will be an "Obama effect."
"This is a very racially mixed country, but all the elites are white. Things have been so bad for so long, I think people just accept it," said Carlos Eduardo Antones, 21, a waiter who is black.
I just thought of this and wonder what you all think of it. Is this a useful comparison?
Race and racism in Brazil is like race and racism in the African American community. Color prejudice is VERY much alive and, in spite of heartfelt protests to the contrary, white concepts of physical beauty dominate the thinking of the majority. In other words, the lighter you are, the prettier, more intelligent, etc. you're considered to be.
However, unlike in the U.S., there is no "colorline cutoff" between "black" and "white". In other words, "white" people are incorporated into this color prejudice scale, which is unified across society.
Quote:
Quote:
But the country that prides itself on racial mixing and tolerance is also being forced to take a reality check.
Macunaima
Yet again, another (presumably white) gringo author arrives to tell us what we have known since the 1970s at least: Brazil is a racist country. The only people who need to "wake up" here are the folks who think that this is news.
However, the article is a classic example of how to twist Brazilian racial realities.
For example, the author claims that 50% of Brazil is black. That's only tru if you count all "pardos" as "black". If we only count "negros" it's 6%.
But fair go, right? Wrong. Because in all the other stats he cites, he uses stats that are concocted by only counting that 6% of self-described "negros". Frex, that 3% of college grads only pertains to the 6% negro population, not to the 50% pardo and negro population. Likewise, that "1 out of 81 sentators is black" bit only counts self-described negros, not pardos.
Finally, that 'blacks only started organizing in the last 40 years" is TOTAL horseshit. Quoting AfroReggae on Black Brazilian political history is like quoting FlavorFlav on Black American political history: you're sure to get good sounsbites, but they're not going to be all that reliable in terms of facts.
Not to try to moralize our Senate which is, of course, a racist institution, but to claim that the U.S. is somehow light-years beyond Brazil on this issue is nuts. Here's our one "real" black senator:
...and here are a bunch of Brazilian senators who The Sentinel obviously considers to be "white":
Now let's look at Black American sentaors, shall we?
In the last ten years, there has been precisely ONE: Barack Obama. And you know DAMNED well that there are no mestiços in that august body passing as white.
Reading about how fluid Brazil's racial system really is, I don't understand why the average Brazilian would care about being labeled as Black or mixed if their offspring could become White with a change in job or just by being light skinned? It seems to me that White shouldn't hold the prestige in Brazil that it does if being White (and changing races) is really so easy to do.
I have always had a sneaking suspicion that Brazil and the rest of Latin America is not really the racially tolerant (nor fluid) societies that others like to claim. I believe during slavery and colonization (which started much earlier than America and race mixing much more extreme too) Latin America gained a mixed race majority which is considered 'mixed race' in Latin America. However, upon entering foreign countries like America, most Hispanics assume that the native population will have no knowledge of history in their country, and insist that they were part of the endogamous White elite of the country ( as opposed to telling the truth about being part of the mixed raced working class whether light or dark. Or the Indian or Black person scratching a living in the barrio). The White elite of Latin America are not leaving, because they have it made. The poor Indian and mixed peasants are the ones risking their lives for a better future.
Holding prestigious offices and being considerably wealthy buys whiteness almost everywhere. Just look at Obama, who is now being accused in some circles of not being Black enough despite his appearance. People far whiter in culture and appearance have been called and considered Black in this country!
Reading about how fluid Brazil's racial system really is, I don't understand why the average Brazilian would care about being labeled as Black or mixed if their offspring could become White with a change in job or just by being light skinned? It seems to me that White shouldn't hold the prestige in Brazil that it does if being White (and changing races) is really so easy to do.
Does the average Brazilian care about how he’s labeled? The article doesn’t give a good indication, and if we follow the latest census figures from Brazil, a significant percentage of the population describes itself as neither black nor white.
Quote:
I have always had a sneaking suspicion that Brazil and the rest of Latin America is not really the racially tolerant (nor fluid) societies that others like to claim.
Most sensible people, even people from Latin America who post here, don’t deny the existence of colorism and classism in Latin America. The existence of both, however, doesn’t disprove the racial fluidity of these countries. Latin America (depending on the country) may not be racially tolerant in an absolute sense; no society is, but these societies are more racially tolerant than our own in the sense that you don’t have the history of racially-motivated violence and racial tension that we have in the U.S.
Quote:
I believe during slavery and colonization (which started much earlier than America and race mixing much more extreme too) Latin America gained a mixed race majority which is considered 'mixed race' in Latin America. However, upon entering foreign countries like America, most Hispanics assume that the native population will have no knowledge of history in their country, and insist that they were part of the endogamous White elite of the country ( as opposed to telling the truth about being part of the mixed raced working class whether light or dark. Or the Indian or Black person scratching a living in the barrio). The White elite of Latin America are not leaving, because they have it made. The poor Indian and mixed peasants are the ones risking their lives for a better future.
I doubt most Latin Americans insist they are part of the white elite of their homelands when they arrive in the U.S. Identifying as white isn’t the same thing as seeing yourself as a member of the white elite of your country. And this insistence may vary from one Hispanic group to another.
No G-man, when I say 'white elite' I mean the endogamous White community of Latin America that holds most of the power and money in each country. Of course some Whites are not rich, but the elite is made up of mostly White elite. And of course to outsiders, the line between the White elite and say a light skinned middle class metizo is invisible or nonexistent because to 'us' they look quite similar, but if you live there you have been socialized to know where the boundaries are. Every society has them!
The Hispanic people who are immigrating to the US were not considered White in their own country. This is the point I am making! They were part of the mixed race majority, the normal working class! To come to America 30 years later and claiming to be White Hispanic is saying you came from that White elite group in Latin America. A good example would be if I moved to South Africa and started checking Coloured the mixed raced identity form there. I am not consider mixed in America even with a Multiracial category in place so why would I consider myself mixed in South Africa? The only thing I could think of is that South Africans not having racial data on American citizens could not prove whether I was Black or just a dark skinned coloured. I think this is what is going on in the Hispanic community.
...when I say 'white elite' I mean the endogamous White community of Latin America ...
There is no endogamous White community of Latin America. There is no endogamy. And most middle- and professional-class South Americans do not call themselves "White." If you think that there is endogamy, or that most call themselves "White," provide a source.
No G-man, when I say 'white elite' I mean the endogamous White community of Latin America that holds most of the power and money in each country. Of course some Whites are not rich, but the elite is made up of mostly White elite. And of course to outsiders, the line between the White elite and say a light skinned middle class metizo is invisible or nonexistent because to 'us' they look quite similar, but if you live there you have been socialized to know where the boundaries are. Every society has them!
I understood what you meant.
girlfromthenc wrote:
The Hispanic people who are immigrating to the US were not considered White in their own country. This is the point I am making! They were part of the mixed race majority, the normal working class! To come to America 30 years later and claiming to be White Hispanic is saying you came from that White elite group in Latin America. A good example would be if I moved to South Africa and started checking Coloured the mixed raced identity form there. I am not consider mixed in America even with a Multiracial category in place so why would I consider myself mixed in South Africa? The only thing I could think of is that South Africans not having racial data on American citizens could not prove whether I was Black or just a dark skinned coloured. I think this is what is going on in the Hispanic community.
What I stated earlier was identifying as white isn't an indication that one sees himself as a member of the white elite of his country or is trying to pass himself off as one. The extent to which Latin American immigrants (as opposed to Americans of Latin American background) self-identify as white I assume depends on the country they are from. For example, many Brazilians where I live appear to be more or less European in appearance. Many of these people use white as their preferred descriptor. Many people from Puerto Rico I come across, even ones who appear totally European in appearance, tend to see themselves simply as Puerto Rican. The ones born and/or raised here I’ve met are even less likely to see themselves as white or even describe themselves in racial terms, with the exception of four I know who consider themselves (racially) black. These are anecdotes of course and are not a substitute for data, but these are my experiences.
Other things to look at that are whether the Latin American is born or raised in the U.S. and whether their families are multi-generational residents of the U.S. I would venture to guess that a light-skinned Chicano from New Mexico or Texas (?) whose family has been in the U.S. for three or more generations may be more likely to self-identify as white than a recently arrived mestizo from El Salvador.
Often when we talk about how Latin Americans in the U.S. self-identify there is no distinction made between the recent immigrants, the native-born, the person whose family has been here in the U.S. for several generations, and to which of the various Latin American ethnicities that reside here the Latino belongs. Each of these sub-groups may have a varying propensity to see itself as white.
'
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in
