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### Viewing cable 07SAOPAULO895, BRAZIL: NOT A MULTIRACIAL, MULTICULTURAL PARADISE

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07SAOPAULO895 | 2007-11-06 17:57 | 2011-07-11 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Consulate Sao Paulo

`

    VZCZCXRO9447
    PP RUEHRG
    DE RUEHSO #0895/01 3101757
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    P 061757Z NOV 07
    FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7653
    INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 8766
    RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 3160
    RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2924
    RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2485
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 3544
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0592
    RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2186
    RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3864
    RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8422
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
    RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000895

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA AND DRL
    NSC FOR TOMASULO
    SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
    USAID FOR LAC/AA

    TAGS: PHUM SOCI SCUL KDEM KPAO BR
    SUBJECT: BRAZIL: NOT A MULTIRACIAL, MULTICULTURAL PARADISE

    SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY

    Summary
    -------

    ¶1.  (SBU) Discrimination against Afro-Brazilians tarnishes Brazil's
    international reputation as a tolerant and welcoming country home to
    hundreds of indigenous groups and immigrants from every corner of
    the world.  In Brazil the issue is extremely divisive with many
    claiming that racism does not exist, despite overwhelming evidence
    to the contrary.  Some Afro-Brazilian activists believe part of the
    problem is traditional racism against "darker-skinned" people, but
    place equal, if not more, blame on internal divisions and a lack of
    common efforts within the black community.  Analysts tell us that a
    combination of legislative action and private sector initiatives as
    well as a change in the national culture is essential if Brazil is
    to move past decades of racism.  End Summary.

    Background
    ----------

    ¶2.  (SBU) Brazil is home to between 90 and 100 million descendants
    of African slaves - over half of the country's total population.
    Despite the 1888 abolition of slavery, Afro-Brazilians still face
    significant economic, political and social challenges.  Blacks are
    overwhelmingly poor, representing two-thirds of Brazilians below the
    poverty line, and do not have access to good education.
    Afro-Brazilians face serious hurdles entering the formal labor
    market and securing high-paying jobs.  Blacks earn on average half
    as much as whites and are twice as likely to be illiterate.

    ¶3.  (SBU) Discrimination against Brazil's black population is a
    cruel injustice that remains a powerful reality, according to Elisa
    Lucas Rodrigues, President of the Sao Paulo State Council on the
    Participation and Development of the Black Community (CPDCNGSP).
    Rodrigues, a 2005 International Visitor (IV), remarked that a 2003
    law that requires public schools to teach African culture and
    history is a positive first step; her Council has trained 16,000
    teachers in the subject.  Maria Aparecida de Laia, General
    Coordinator of Sao Paulo's Special Secretariat for Participation and
    Partnership's Coordinating Body for Issues of the Black Population
    (CONE), also hailed the law, highlighting its vital role in raising
    the self-confidence of young Afro-Brazilians and allowing them to
    see that they can achieve more than basic service jobs.  (Note:  The
    law does not cover private schools which are overwhelmingly
    dominated by richer, white Brazilians.  End Note.)

    ¶4.  (SBU) CPDCNGSP President Rodrigues expressed support for state
    and federal universities that are self-implementing quota systems to
    ensure greater diversity.  According to the Special Secretariat on
    Racial Equality, over 40 universities have already adopted such
    quota systems.  These opportunities have helped provide a superior
    level of education to many Afro-Brazilians, who for generations were
    denied a higher degree, CONE Coordinator de Laia said.  Senator
    Paulo Paim of President Lula's Workers' Party (PT), the only
    self-declared Afro-Brazilian senator, is leading an effort to
    require federal universities to have quotas in place.  There is much
    debate within the Afro-Brazilian community regarding quotas,
    however.  Denise Aparecida Tobias, a family attorney involved in
    initiatives supporting the Afro-Brazilian community, said that some
    Afro-Brazilians contend that quotas separate blacks even more from
    whites.

    Community Self-Image Improving
    ------------------------------

    ¶5.  (SBU) De Laia noted that Afro-Brazilians have achieved major
    success in a number of academic fields.  More Afro-Brazilians are
    becoming scholars and researchers, more scholarships are granted to
    Afro-Brazilians and more academic papers are being published on
    Afro-Brazilian issues.  Only a few years ago, whites were the
    principal authors of research projects on the Afro-Brazilian
    community, she said, and now blacks are taking the lead.  Attorney
    Tobias claimed that Afro-Brazilians are beginning to see some hope
    in media and popular culture.  Widely-viewed soap operas no longer
    "fear" featuring black actors, and due to Afro-Brazilian athletes'

    SAO PAULO 00000895  002 OF 003

    success, particularly in soccer - the national obsession - black
    self-confidence, non-existent for generations, is on the rise.
    Moises de Freitas, a researcher on Afro-Brazilian socio-economic
    development, said Afro-Brazilians are increasingly more likely to
    identify their race on surveys, a sign that they are no longer
    afraid of admitting who they are instead of trying to classify
    themselves in another category.  Father Jose Enes de Jesus,
    President of the Institute of the Black Baptist Father (IBBF), a
    Catholic organization trying to get Afro-Brazilian youth off the
    streets, claimed that in the last fifteen years, Afro-Brazilians
    have become more conscious of their racial identity and have begun
    to demand more rights and more follow-up by authorities on racial
    crimes.

    Government Efforts Needed
    -------------------------

    ¶6.  (SBU) In March, Minister of Racial Integration Matilde Ribeiro
    made a provocative statement in which she asserted that it is
    natural for blacks to dislike white people.  Many criticized her
    statement as a racist incitement, prompting Vice President Jose
    Alencar to deny the existence of racism in Brazil; however, it
    helped raise awareness of an often overlooked issue.  CPDCNGSP
    President Rodrigues expressed disappointment that the Sao Paulo
    State Government fails to financially support many agencies dealing
    with disadvantaged groups, including women, children and senior
    citizens, impacting the programs her entity can run.  Government
    agencies handling diversity and discrimination, as well as those
    working on education and health, need greater integration to improve
    the lives of Afro-Brazilians, CONE's de Laia commented.  Federal,
    state and local offices in large urban areas charged with this
    portfolio are making progress but smaller and more rural cities and
    towns lack basic support for such initiatives.  Maria da Penha
    Guimaraes, IBBF Legal Coordinator, noted that government initiatives
    help the poor and disadvantaged in general rather than targeting
    Afro-Brazilians, adding that many laws are not enforced, further
    complicating anti-discrimination efforts.  The government is
    effective in providing basic food aid to the poor, of whom many are
    Afro-Brazilians, but does not build an "infrastructure" for personal
    growth and development or mechanisms to help improve the community
    as a whole, she said.

    The Private Sector as a Model?
    ------------------------------

    ¶7.  (SBU) Researcher de Freitas assisted in a major project on
    social and racial issues in the workplace which demonstrated that
    the private sector may be ahead of government in some
    anti-discrimination efforts.  His findings also highlighted that
    challenges remain.  Many businesses in Brazil, including even large
    corporations, are family-owned and conduct business with other
    family-operated companies.  Black Brazilian families do not have a
    history of owning large businesses and therefore have difficulty
    competing.  Because of the nature of family ownership and the fact
    that the rich attend the same schools and religious and social
    organizations, networking is extremely important.  Blacks do not
    belong to these same networks and therefore face this additional
    obstacle.  According to de Freitas, many businesses are moving away
    from hiring based purely on networking, potentially opening the
    field to more blacks.

    Divisions within Afro-Brazilian Community
    -----------------------------------------

    ¶8.  (SBU) Contacts repeated that unity is a major challenge for the
    Afro-Brazilian community in fighting discrimination.  Da Penha of
    IBBF said Afro-Brazilians are divided based on various "shades of
    blackness."  As she explained it, "darker" blacks do not consider
    "lighter" blacks to be "real" Afro-Brazilians and do not cooperate
    on common causes.  Many "lighter-skinned" Afro-Brazilians also do
    not rally around the black cause to avoid having society group them
    with Afro-Brazilians as a whole, and some Afro-Brazilians do not
    even recognize themselves as black.  De Freitas commented that black
    people suffer from prejudice perpetrated not only by non-blacks, but
    also by "lighter-skinned" blacks, who are sometimes the most
    virulent racists because they consider themselves better than

    SAO PAULO 00000895  003 OF 003

    "darker" blacks because of their lighter skin tone.  Rodrigues said
    that while there is a national movement to address these issues, it
    does not get much attention because Brazilians are more concerned
    about immediate problems such as their next meal or paycheck.  Da
    Penha said that the Afro-Brazilian rights movement needs mre unity
    and structure, but more importantly, blcks must change their
    mentality and gain confidene to battle racism.  Mauricio Pestana, a
    2006 IVand prominent Afro-Brazilian political commentator also
    called for greater cooperation, saying tha a serious lack of
    leadership prevents black Brailians from pressing for more rights.
    Brazil does not have a Martin Luther King, Jr., he said, and wthout
    one, internal fighting and the absence of  common effort are
    impeding progress.  In attorny Tobias' opinion, this lack of a
    culture of organized activism to promote change is a serious
    problem.  Many blacks do not want to "fight" because they believe
    that whites will always have more power.  She added that
    Afro-Brazilians do not want to help each other because doing so
    would highlight their "blackness" and make them lose favor among
    whites.

    Other Challenges Remain
    -----------------------

    ¶9.  (SBU) CPDCNGSP President Rodrigues lamented the fact that the
    majority of Afro-Brazilians serve in poorer paying jobs and are not
    represented in senior state government offices.  She said part of
    the problem is because power is often passed down from father to son
    in Brazil, and it is therefore difficult for blacks to hold
    leadership positions if historically they have never had any.
    CONE's de Laia argued that an overwhelming number of Afro-Brazilian
    descendants live in shantytowns and represent the demographic with
    the lowest education level in Brazil.  No matter what successes
    Afro-Brazilians have achieved, whites still have an easier time
    finding jobs and securing a higher salary, adding that there are no
    major Afro-Brazilian business executives.  Rodrigues also criticized
    severe police brutality aimed at blacks in custody, but said the
    Council is working on this issue through a mandatory diversity
    training course for all incoming police officers created in 2005.
    De Laia said that black youth are particularly prone to problems
    because they regularly resort to violence to resolve disputes.  She
    said police often do not pursue the possibility of hate- or
    race-related motives in crimes perpetrated against Afro-Brazilians
    specifically because law enforcement denies or ignores the existence
    of racism.

    Comment
    ------

    ¶10.  (SBU) The plight of Afro-Brazilians is a complicated issue that
    sheds the myth - advanced in the 1930's by renowned sociologist
    Gilberto Freyre - of "racial democracy" as a key component of
    Brazil's "luso-tropical civilization," warm and friendly people,
    beautiful beaches, laid-back music and a carefree lifestyle.  Racism
    is a serious problem that impacts the lives of millions of
    Brazilians.  It limits their educational and social opportunities,
    which, in turn, hinders their entry into the workforce and
    participation in the mainstream economy.  Both the public and
    private sectors have an obligation to take serious steps in
    addressing deficiencies, but the real question is whether Brazilians
    as a whole are ready to acknowledge the problem and willing to take
    action.  Doing so would require them to move past decades of
    discrimination and change their whole mindset on race and culture.
    Undoubtedly this will be an issue of growing importance in Brazil
    for years to come.  End Comment.

    ¶11.  (U) This cable was cleared by Embassy Brasilia.

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