The Struggle for Affirmative Actions in Brazil: The Case of UFRJ

• In Event: 151 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 34. Race, Ethnicity and Student Body Composition

Abstract

In 2012, the Brazilian Congress approved affirmative actions for all federal institutions of higher education. Before that, for almost 10 years, ad-hoc decisions have been taken by universities and state assemblies, endorsing quotas for low-income, black and brown students.
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) was one of the last institutions among the most prestigious federal universities of the country to adopt affirmative actions. In this presentation, we analyze the debate on affirmative actions in the UFRJ’s academic community. We present the several stages of the discussion and we focus on the positions of the institutional agents involved in the dispute.
The paper stresses the agency of the President of UFRJ for a positive achievement. The objective is to show the political importance of his role for the adoption of quotas in that university, as well as to introduce the broader debate and the “hidden intentions” that led to the implementation of UFRJ affirmative action policies.

Authors

• Irene Rossetto, The University of Texas at Austin

• Marcelo JP Paixão, The University of Texas at Austin