EVENT SUMMARIESTitle: Challenges Facing African Descendants in Latin AmericaAuthor: Chloe BrownDate: April 10, 2008
Additional ResourcesData: Social and Demographic Indicators on Race and Gender in Brazil (in Portuguese) at LAESER, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's Institute for Economic, Historical, Social and Statistical Analysis on Racial RelationsThe Inter-American Development Bank's 2008 Report on Economic and Social Progress: Outsiders? The Changing Patterns of Exclusion in Latin America and the CaribbeanRelated Publications
Women in the Americas: Paths to Political Power. By Inter-American Dialogue, Inter-American Development Bank, League of Women Voters.
Incorporating Race and Ethnicity into the UN Millennium Development Goals. By Edward E. Telles. 2007.Related Events
Members of Congress Discuss Challenges Facing Afro-Descendants in Latin America - April 9, 2008.
Racial Inequality and Racism in Cuba - May 23, 2007.Program Pages
Brazil & the Southern Cone
Education Reform (PREAL)
Social Policy Listen to an mp3 audio recording of this event
Despite small advances, exclusion and inequity continue to plague the lives of the region’s African descendants—a group representing one third of the hemisphere’s population—said Sir Clare Roberts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) at an April 10 Inter-American Dialogue event co-sponsored by the Inter-American Foundation.Roberts, of Antigua, is the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Afro-descendants and Against Racial Discrimination and Racism for the IACHR, a commission of the Organization of American States (OAS). He spoke along with Dr. Marcelo Paixão, director of undergraduate studies at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s Economic Institute. Paixão is the first analyst to disaggregate Brazil’s human development indicators by race. Roberts pointed out that, all too often, Afro-descendants are "invisible" to their governments. The Rapporteurship works to generate awareness of racial disparities and discrimination among OAS member states, analyze current challenges, formulate recommendations to overcome those challenges, and provide technical assistance to member states who are implementing progressive legislation to work against racial discrimination.The IACHR is drafting the Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, which it sees as a standard-setting tool that will help keep the issue on the minds of both policy-makers and civil society. According to Roberts, participating in this regional convention—which lists protected rights, defines acts of racism and discrimination, outlines the duties of states, and sets forth monitoring mechanisms—would be the best way for the United States to help Afro-descendants in the region. This type of international leadership is needed in order to secure the rights of Afro-descendants in Latin America, said Roberts. In many countries the dialogue between under-resourced and isolated Afro-descendant advocacy groups and governments is "weak, non-existent, or hostile," and despite the IACHR’s efforts, many governments still deny that racial discrimination exists within their country. Roberts warned that the IACHR’s progress will be modest until researchers can provide fact-based evidence to the contrary.Brazil is one of the few countries with strong, statistics-based evidence available that demonstrates the existence of racial discrimination. Unfortunately, only a limited number of researchers have made use of the racially disaggregated data that the government has provided. Paixão has conducted some of the strongest studies on the subject. His research shows the gross racial disparities that have resulted from discriminatory policies and attitudes that deny dark-skinned Brazilians—almost 50 percent of the population, a proportion that dwarfs the regional average—equal access to education, health care, employment, capital, personal security and political representation. His research paints a troubling picture:
Human Security. On average, members of the black and brown population are nearly twice as likely to be victimized or murdered. Males and youth are even more at risk. Vulnerability to violence and lack of access to health care contribute to their lower life expectancy by 3.2 years.
Education. The illiteracy rate of the black and brown population is more than twice that of the white population. Non-white youth are much more likely to drop out of school, and only 6 percent of black and brown university-age youth attend Brazil’s universities.
Income. Unemployment rates of black and brown Brazilians are disproportionately high. Those who are employed earn half as much as their white peers. The black and brown population occupies approximately 65 percent of the poorest tenth of the population, and only 20 percent of the richest tenth. These figures are more extreme for women.
Political Representation in Government. While nearly 50 percent of Brazil’s population identifies itself as black or brown, only 9 percent of representatives in Brazil’s national Congress are black or brown. Over 90 percent of representatives are college-educated white males.The persistence of these inequalities may be indicative of a lack of representation, said Paixão. While some improvements have been made, Paixão—like Roberts—noted that a lot of work was still needed in order to improve the lives of Afro-descendants in Latin America and change racial discriminatory practices. The creation of the new cabinet-level Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPPIR) in Brazil, though still vastly under-funded, is a step in the right direction, said Paixão.
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