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Racial Quotas in Brazil

Introduction

In Brazil, Racial Quotas refer to spaces in colleges, universities, and certain government jobs that are reserved for black, mixed-race, and indigenous people.

Racial Quotas in Brazil were inspired by earlier efforts made by India in the 1930's to diminish the socioeconomic disparities between the different social castes. In Brazil, racial quotas and other Affirmative Action measures began to be pursued on a campus by campus basis at several public universities during the early 2000's.

On a national level, quotas began with the Quota Law in 2012 (Law 12,711 of 2012). The Quota Law requires that at least 50% of admitted students at all public universities come from public high schools. Of those 50% from public high schools, at least 50% have to come from families with a monthly per capita income of 1.5 times the federal monthly minimum wage or less (thus comprising at least 25% of the incoming freshman class in any given year). As of January 1, 2022, the federal minimum wage in Brazil is 1,212 Reais per month - equivalent to USD $229.51 as of December, 2022.

Additionally, the Quota Law requires that university admissions be race-conscious, such that the demographics of the student body reflect the overall demographics of the country. However, the Quota Law does not extend this demographic requirement to every racial group, only to black, mixed-race, and indigenous people. Whites and Asians, for example, are not guaranteed reserved seats on account of their race. In addition to these racial categories, demographically proportional seats are reserved for individuals with disabilities.

Two years later, under Law 12,990 of 2014, the racial quota system was expanded to include government employment. Under Law 12,990, 20% of government positions obtained via the public test system must be filled by black people. Notably, this law differs from the 2012 Quota Law in that it proposes an overrepresentation of black hires - relative to the present population - and does not provide racial preference for mixed-race or indigenous jobseekers.

Demographic Comparisons

The following table shows the percentage of enrolled university students by race in Brazil and their respective proportion among the general population.

	Asian	Black	Indigenous	Mixed-Race	White	Undeclared
Percent Enrolled in Universities	1.7%	7.1%	0.7%	31.1%	42.6%	16.8%
Percent of the Overall Population	1.09%	7.61%	0.43%	43.13%	47.73	N/A

Note that the demographics of university students are self-reported, whereas the national demographics are part of the national census. Due to the high level of students who do not declare their race, it is difficult to determine whether a given racial group is under or overrepresented among the student body.

Results

Students protesting against racial quotas in Brasília, Brazil. The sign reads: "Want an opening? Pass the Vestibular (entry exam)!"

Since the implementation of racial quotas in university admissions, enrollments of black, indigenous, and mixed-race students in universities have increased. For example, Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) saw an increase of black and mixed-race students from 20% of the student body prior to the implementation to a current level of 35%.

Criticisms

One of the problems associated with the present quota system is the possibility for fraud. Because university applicants' race is self-assessed, an individual who is not black, indigenous, or mixed-race could potentially misrepresent his or her race in order to obtain preferential university admission.

Likewise, many White and Asian students at the University of São Paulo (USP) and the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) have publicly complained that racial quotas are a present-day case of institutional racism.

Despite these criticisms, in a 2016 case, the Supreme Court of Brazil ruled unanimously in favor of racial quotas.