Opinion – Michael França: Collective actions are fundamental to reduce the quotas of the elite in power

It is not new that there is a kind of quota system in the spaces of power. The advantages inherited by the elite and the difficulty in advancing policies that help to reduce the profound inequality of opportunity are two factors that contribute to the fact that high-income white men and their children dominate Brazil’s prestigious positions and directions.

Despite the significant lack of representation, the public debate around diversity has progressed in recent decades. However, with regard to the Legislative Power, the discussion is relatively more advanced in several countries around the world.

A set of efforts has been adopted with the aim of expanding the political representation of minorities. In 2003, according to a report by the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), there were already more than 45 countries with laws aimed at creating quotas or reserving parliamentary seats by gender and ethnicity (“Dimensions of political inclusion and exclusion in Brazil : Gender and Race”, 2003).

However, there are important differences between quotas and seat reservations. Quotas require that a percentage of party candidates be from a certain population group. This tends not to significantly change the functioning of the political game.

Intrinsic to the party and electoral system there are several barriers for minorities to be elected. It is known that money and power go hand in hand. This fact tends to be more prominent in politics.

Women, blacks and low-income individuals find it more difficult to obtain resources to finance their campaigns. In addition, candidates with family and political connections have considerable advantages over others.

At election time, racial and gender imbalances can appear even in those parties with significant diversity in their candidacies. In this context, seat reservations end up changing
the rules of the game more sharply and tend to be more effective in terms of political inclusion.

In the Brazilian case, the administration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), is marked by advances in the debate related to inclusion. As a professor of sociology, the
ex-president always denied the idea that there was a racial democracy in the country. In the 1990s, he opened up considerable scope for expanding the agenda related to affirmative action.

The debate intensified with the rise of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from the PT (Workers’ Party), to power. Using PT’s slogan, it can be said that “never before in the history of this country” have there been so many women in government. In turn, the Quota Law, implemented under Dilma Rousseff, from the PT, has been responsible for generating a new critical mass in the country.

University education has given voices to thousands of previously marginalized youth. This affects the design and implementation of public policies. In addition, the greater social mobility generated by the law contributes to the development of new leaders and potential new candidates.

The administration of Jair Bolsonaro, of the PL (Liberal Party), is being marked by the denial of inclusion policies. Despite this, there is currently a set of measures being debated outside
the scope of the federal government in order to increase representation.

However, although there have been advances in recent decades, much remains to be done. The presence of minorities in positions of power in Brazil is significantly lower than in other countries in the region. In this context, the escalation of collective actions by previously excluded groups will be fundamental to reduce the elites’ quotas in the spaces of power.

The text is a tribute to the song “Selvagem”, by Bi Ribeiro and Herbert Vianna, performed by Paralamas do Sucesso