Anti-racism legislation in Brazil: the role of the Courts in the reproduction of the myth of racial democracy

The goal of this paper is to analyze Brazilian anti-racism law in practice, assessing judicial response to cases of racial stigma and insult. We analyzed over 200 cases from 9 Brazilian states involving racial insults and racial disparagement in Brazilian courts of appeal. We find that the judiciary...

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Gorde:
Xehetasun bibliografikoak
Egile Nagusiak: Machado, Marta Rodriguez de Assis, Silva, Márcia Regina de Lima, Santos, Natália Neris da Silva
Formatua: Artikulua
Hizkuntza:Ingelesa
Argitaratua: 2019
Gaiak:
Law
Sarrera elektronikoa:https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=7320929
Baliabidea:Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, ISSN 2359-5639, Vol. 6, Nº. 2, 2019 (Ejemplar dedicado a: maio/agosto), pags. 267-296
Etiketak: Etiketa erantsi
Etiketarik gabe: Izan zaitez lehena erregistro honi etiketa jartzen
Laburpena: The goal of this paper is to analyze Brazilian anti-racism law in practice, assessing judicial response to cases of racial stigma and insult. We analyzed over 200 cases from 9 Brazilian states involving racial insults and racial disparagement in Brazilian courts of appeal. We find that the judiciary tends to downplay the importance of insult and stigma, often dismissing cases or lowering penalties. This judicial treatment conflicts with the evidence that racial insults are prevalent in society and serve to maintain racial hierarchies. While the judiciary appears to be enforcing anti-discrimination law, the actual decisions show that the legal system fails to recognize and deal with the real dynamics of Brazilian racism thereby reinforcing the myth of Brazil racial democracy.