At least 30% of the positions designated for the Federal Government of Brazil must be occupied by blacks and mestizos. So says a decree signed this Tuesday by Lula da Silva, who argues that the time has come to confront racism.
“This is the time to definitively turn the key on discrimination, prejudice and exclusion. Black people will not be treated by this government as small beneficiaries of social policies, but as protagonists of their own history. Enough of limiting the roles that the Afro-descendant population may or may not occupy in society. You can be what you want, how you want and where you want. It is up to the State to guarantee equal opportunities for all”, explained Lula da Silva.
In addition to this measure, the head of state approved others to promote racial equality in a country of 213 million inhabitants. Brazil has less than 5% black executives in the 500 largest Brazilian companies.
The leftist leader, who returned for his third presidential term in January, vowed to make the Brazilian government reflect “the face of Brazilian society,” where more than half the population is black or mixed-race.
“Racism is at the root of inequality, which is why it must be fought like a plague on a plantation,” said the Brazilian president during an act in the capital Brasilia, where he signed the decree and other measures to promote racial equality in the country, which has 213 million inhabitants.
The measure aims to “promote the presence of black people in decision-making and leadership spaces,” the government guaranteed in a note, adding that it will affect those who self-identify as black or brown. Quotas for positions of trust in the civil service, which are normally senior advisory and managerial positions, must be met by 2025, according to the decree.
“Without racial and gender equality there will be no democracy,” Lula concluded.
Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery in 1888, has the largest black population outside of Africa, but suffers from the scourge of structural racism, with less than 5% of black executives in the 500 largest Brazilian companies, according to a survey of 2021.
Source: TSF
