Race and Justice

As the Inter-American race report points out, "[i]n Latin America, racial inequality is pervasive and takes many forms." In this unit we start by taking a brief look at some data on the region's race composition. Then we analyze how the issue of racial inequality has been dealt with since the early twentieth century. Finally, we study how race affects the way states treat their citizens, especially when it comes to the criminal courts.

The focus of our analysis is the case of Brazil, the country with the highest percentage of Afro-descendants in the region, and the country that has been in the forefront of the creation and implementation of policies dealing with racial inequality. But other countries have similarly diverse populations, and have also attempted to address them over the years. The race report in particular points out how many of the countries have adopted laws or constitutions that purport to protect the rights of racial minorities. The problem more often resides in putting these laws into practice.

How does racial inequality affect the quality of democracies in Latin America? What is the relationship between racial and socio-economic inequality? What have been the responses to the difficulties posed by racial inequality? The texts by Fry and Fischer explore the effect of racial characteristics on legal outcomes and the tight connection between socio-economic inequality and race in Brazil. Here we begin to see the blurring of the lines between racial and economic inequality. Htun builds on this to examine the recent responses by the government to inequality, and how this response is sometimes complicated by that blurred line.

Our goal in this unit is two-fold: on the one hand, we seek to provide a realistic assessment of the challenges that racial inequalities and myths of racial democracy pose for democracy and the provision of justice; on the other hand, we want to understand the pros and cons of the different policy frameworks that have been applied to the this issue.

• Reading 1: Peter Fry - "Color and the Rule of Law in Brazil" (.pdf)
  • Study Questions
  • Report on legal efforts to combat racism in Latin America (.pdf)
  • Follow this link to the Inter-Agency Consultation on Race in Latin America, an organization that monitors efforts to improve race relations and the condition of Latin American Afro-descendants.
• Reading 2: Fischer - "Race and Social Discrimination in Rio de Janeiro's Twentieth-Century Criminal Courts" (.pdf)
  • Study Questions
  • Follow this link to Viva Rio's website (in Portuguese) with discussions of current events relating to the underprivileged in Brazil
  • Follow this link to Viva Favela, an NGO that works in the shantytowns in Rio de Janeiro (link to English version at bottom of page)
• Reading 3: Htun - "From 'Racial Democracy' to Affirmative Action: Changing State Policy on Race in Brazil" (.pdf)
  • Study Questions
• Country Profile: Brazil