Supreme Court to rule on racial quotas next Wednesday.
The trial regarding the controversial system that reserves places for Black and mixed-race students in public universities will now be judged under the presidency of Minister Carlos Ayres Britto.
Fernando Porfírio _247 – The racial quota system in public universities, a delicate and important issue for the country's future, will be on the agenda of the next session of the Federal Supreme Court, scheduled for Wednesday (25). Two actions questioning the reservation of places for black students were released by the rapporteur, Minister Ricardo Lewandowiski, who announced on Friday (20) the conclusion of his vote.
The racial quota system creates reserved places for Black and mixed-race individuals to enter public educational institutions. The system was established more than a decade ago, when Law 3.708/01 guaranteed 40% of places in public universities in Rio de Janeiro to Black students.
In 2010, the controversy surrounding the racial quota system prompted a series of public hearings at the Supreme Federal Court (STF). Over three days, approximately 40 experts in the field defended the pros and cons of the federal government's affirmative action policy.
One of the actions is the Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 186. Filed by the DEM party against the University of Brasília, the action questions the reservation of 20% of the places foreseen in the entrance exam to be filled based on ethnic-racial criteria.
The other case is Extraordinary Appeal 597.285, filed by a student who felt harmed by the quota system adopted by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. He challenges the constitutionality of the quota system as a means of entry into higher education.
The student was not accepted into the Business Administration course through the entrance exam, even though he achieved a higher score than some candidates admitted to the same course through the quota system.
In the lawsuit filed by the DEM party, they argue that the University of Brasília (UnB) "resurrected Nazi ideals" and that quotas are not a solution to inequalities in the country. "Quotas for Black people do not solve the problem. And they may even worsen the problem, insofar as they promote an arbitrary offense against the principle of equality."
According to the party, its intention is not to discuss the constitutionality of affirmative action in general, as a necessary policy for the inclusion of minorities. Nor is it "debating the existence of racism, prejudice, and discrimination in Brazilian society."
According to the lawsuit, the issue the plaintiff seeks to address is "whether the implementation of a racialized state or institutionalized racism, along the lines practiced in the United States, South Africa, or Rwanda, would be appropriate for Brazil."
When it filed the lawsuit in July 2009, the DEM party requested an injunction to suspend the enrollment of those who passed the University of Brasília's entrance exam. The then-president of the Supreme Court, Justice Gilmar Mendes, rejected the request.
According to the party, proponents of affirmative action programs adopt the Theory of Compensatory Justice. According to this theory, the objective of quotas is to redress the historical debt that whites owe to blacks.
However, the DEM party argues that present generations cannot be held responsible for past mistakes and that it is impossible to identify who the legitimate beneficiaries of these compensatory programs would be.