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How did Imperialism cause racism in Brazil in the 21st century?

Introduction:

• How imperialism created hierarchies in Brazil
• Definition of imperialism we refer to
• Main argument - and outline of next three paragraphs

Para 1: Link between racial hierarchies and socio-economic class

Para 2: Further establishment of hierarchies through immigration policies enforced by government

Para 3: Portrayal of race in the media in Brazil

Conclusion:

• Imperialism is at the root of current racism in Brazil
• Global phenomena - not exclusive to Brazil - globalisation - maybe bring in another example
• Overview of arguments made
• Globalisation and capitalism = modern imperialism
• Western ideals and values dominate in globalisation
• Example of the 'white ideal' and 'whitening' in Brazil can be applied to South America
• Imperialism is largely responsible for the aspiration of achieving the 'white ideal’

This is not an issue restricted to Brazil but rather a global phenomena. In many asian countries skin whitening represents a huge industry. ‘White ideal’ and whitening in Brazil also the case many other places in the world.

The social hierarchies established by colonialism, can also be seen today. Globalisation and capitalism can be seen as a modern form of imperialism

Imperialism creating hierarchies

The racial hierarchies of Brazil are rooted in the imperial prejudices of European settlers (Weinstein), who promoted the ideas of whiteness equating to cleanliness and modernity, and blackness to backwardness and inferiority. From these stereotypes emerged a power structure dominated by the white elite, along with the ideology of whitening out of the social and economic “fear of deterioration posed by the presence of black blood” in society (Akande, pp.80). This hierarchy of power, correlating with race, remained in place throughout the Republic era, when whitening began to be implemented into policy through immigration (Fitzgerald). In 1890, the first selective immigration policy prohibited “blacks and yellows” entry, preferring European labour to supplement agriculture after the abolition of slavery. This was due to miscegenation being a desired effect of mass white immigration (beginning to biologically whiten the population) and land owners believing that European labourers were physically more capable of work (Skidmore). Similar discriminatory policies continued into the 20th century, such as the 1945 decree which set nationality quotas with a clear preference for Europeans, illustrating the endurance of racial hierarchies established during the Empire. The success of Brazil’s immigration policy in the whitening process is demonstrated in 1872-2010 census data, which shows that between those years the white population increased from 38.14% to 47.73% and the black population decreased from 19.68% to 7.61%. However, Akande argues that the whitening policy had ended by the 1940s, the white population reaching its peak in 1940 at 63.47% of the country before steadily declining. This argument suggests that the practice of whitening has long since ended in Brazil, yet, it is argued that it has persisted through imperialism into modern society in more ways than just immigration and miscegenation. (<-- follow on to next para on modern hierarchies) Amberk23 (discuss • contribs) 00:36, 4 December 2018 (UTC)

How has Imperialism caused modern day racism in Brazil?

Overview:

In 1500 Brazil was colonised by Portugal and more African slaves were brought to Brazil than any other country. Due to the journey to Brazil being cheaper than the journey to the US, five million people from Africa were abducted for exportation to Brazil, compared to the 400,000 taken to the US. African imported slaves become essential to the development of the Brazilian economy due to their work in sugar plants, coffee farms and gold mines. Indigenous people wouldn't provide enough a good enough captive labour force so the colonisers turned to the import of African slaves. Many slaves were raped by their male owners resulting in the development of a heavily black or mixed race population in Brazil, where black people outnumbered the white colonisers. In 1888 slavery in Brazil was finally abolished, however it was the last country in the world to abolish slavery. The colonisers believed that Brazil couldn't progress as a nation if most of the population were offspring of African savages and the obvious solution to them was to import ‘better’ genes to Brazil. This began a great attempt to persuade poor white Europeans to immigrate to the country to form a new labour force and ‘whiten’ the population, following the principles of Eugenics.

Immigration Law: ‘The admission of immigrants will comply with the necessity of preserving and developing in the ethnic composition of population, there characteristics that are more convenient to its Europe ascendancy’

After slavery was abolished Brazil claimed to be a ‘Racial Democracy’, where equal rights existed between the black, white and mixed race people of Brazil. However this term ignored the major differences between the slave wonder and the newly freed slaves. The newly freed slaves had no education, land or money. This division formed an inescapable hierarchy of racial traits. It was impossible for ex slaves to find well paid jobs due to their lack of qualifications and in Rio they became marginalised due to not being able to afford properties in the city centre. This marginalisation led to the formation of the favela communities.

Average income in Brazil in 2013:

(insert graph)

In the last 13 years there has been a boom in the Brazilian economy, due to an increase in minimum wage, oil finds and new progressive policies being introduced.This recent boom further highlighted the socio-economic disparities between racial classes in Brazil.

Despite 50% of Brazilians identifying as black or mixed race, out of the 38 federal cabinet members, one is black (the minister for promotion of racial equality). Furthermore a study done on executive staff of 500 of the largest companies in Brazil, showed that 0.25 of the executives were black.

Economic and regional inequalities, correlating to race, passed on from imperialism, are another contributor to the whitening of Brazil, specifically in its southern cities. Economic centres of progress developed where white landowners began mass production and exportation of commodities, such as coffee, sugar and gold. For example, Sao Paulo’s coffee economy began booming in the 1880s due to the large amounts of slave owners drawn to the area, causing the region to become a ‘growth pole’ of economic progress (Weinstein). While some regions grew exponentially, others (populated predominantly by native and black Brazilians) remained in poverty, which has led to vast regional divisions between the ‘progressive’ south and ‘undeveloped’ north. These divisions however are not just economic, they have both social and racial implications. Economic growth was concentrated in white areas because Europeans had the opportunities and the means to accumulate wealth (REFERENCE) - owning land, slaves and capital - whereas black and native Brazilians did not, due to their historical status within the racial hierarchy. This has caused the whitening of economically developed areas of Brazil and intensified regional divisions of race since the end of the Empire. This is evidenced by the statistics that in 1920, 70% of Italian immigrants lived in the city and 80% of Spaniards in the state of Sao Paulo (Fitzgerald). Further support is provided by a 2008 study on the genetic population of a male sample of Sao Paulo, showing that the majority possessed a higher frequency of genes with origins in Europe (specifically Portugal and Spain) than Latin America (Goís). This strengthens the argument that economic and regional inequalities correlate to race in Brazil and have contributed to the whitening of its cities in the South, as Sao Paulo has shown. Although an explicit relationship of causation cannot be established between these modern economic hierarchies and imperialism, the influence of the racism that segregated the non-white population of Brazil during the empire is mirrored in current regional divisions. Amberk23 (discuss • contribs) 11:11, 4 December 2018 (UTC)

How does the depiction of ‘white ideal’ dominate the media in Brazil?

Bill boards depict the ‘good life’ for sale within their advertisements, by linking their campaigns with people at the top of the hierarchy in Brazil, commonly blonde, blue eyed western looking men and woman. People therefore believe that a lighter appearance opens the pathway to more socio-economic progress. This ‘white ideal’ advertising reinforces feelings of inferiority, which is the essence of an immobilising colonial mentality. Increasingly advertising campaigns are aimed at the large populations of poor people in third world countries. The adverts persuade them to invest more money into their appearance to reach these beauty ideals which will in the long term reward them in the form of monetary success or societal acceptance. People to strive to look more white in order to gain equal opportunities.

Advertising skin whitening products can persuade black woman to be ashamed of their natural skin tone and strive to be white. The ‘Brazilian Blow Dry’ has been a huge success around the whole world and was developed as a chemical process allowing black woman to straighten their hair permanently to adhere more closely to the white ideal. Brazil currently has the biggest black population outside Africa yet most famous Brazilian models known today, Giselle, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima are all white.

Commercials feature more western looking men and women, indicating that it is them who have purchasing power.

- Only 10percent of congress members are black

Some people promote the idea that Brazil could be considered as a ‘racial democracy’ and claim that Brazils enduring social problems are solely due to the class inequalities. However there is evidence revealing that there is a serious prejudice against black people and black women in particular. In this context Social media and modern technologies play a great part in the reinforcement of this discrimination.

This so called ‘racial democracy’ in Brazil was heavily questioned after the murder of social justice campaigner Marielle Franco in April 2018. The popular feminist and human rights advocate was shot in Rio de Janeiro after attending an event for black woman.

Over the last few years there has been a rise in the number of cases of online racism towards black woman. Facebook and twitter have become a modern day platforms for anonymous racism and bigotry and many links to colonial racism are being noticed. The racist comments have all stemmed from the previous ‘ whitening’ culture of Brazil, where the ‘white ideal’ became a symbol of progress and modernity and any other appearance was regarded as inferior. The racist posts we see today have become an attempt to undermine the progress of female black protesters like Marielle Franco by delegitimising their cause. In 2017 there were 63,698 reported cases of cyber hate comments, a third of which were racists comments towards black people.

Brazilians of African heritage are invisible in relation to media and government. The Brazilian news and entertainment industries have a severe lack of black presenters and actors. The entertainment industry especially, has been prone to ‘whitewashing’. In the famous Telenovelas, the Brazilian soap opera, nearly all of the main actors are white, even if the series takes place in a predominant black area (source). There have even been cases were books in which the main character is black has been adapted to a telenovela with a white actress, such as in ‘Isaura the slave’. In the instances they are in telenovelas it’s to play the housemaid or the nanny (basically the help, source) to the rich white elites that are the main characters. The different ways in which coloured and white people are portrayed in the Brazilian media supports the racial hierarchies in place. Sunnivaminsaas (discuss • contribs) 10:38, 7 December 2018 (UTC)