Ações afirmativas, educação e efetivação de direitos: convergências e singularidades na inclusão de estudantes afro-brasileiros e afro-mexicanos no ensino superior

Abstract

The development of the research that underpins this dissertation was strongly inspired by the reflections brought about by the tenth anniversary of the enactment of Law No. 12.711, of August 29, 2012 (the Quota Law). This legislation included a provision for its review after ten years of implementation. As this date approached, debates surrounding the importance of affirmative action policies in Brazil were reignited. Amid the controversy between supporters and opponents of racial quotas, scientific research plays a vital role in deepening understanding of the topic and highlighting how such policies are essential for ensuring racial equity. In parallel, an international academic exchange in Mexico sparked a comparative investigation into the affirmative actions implemented at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) and the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP). Considering the presented context, my focus was centered on the issue involving how affirmative action policies in higher education promote the educational inclusion of Afro-descendant students in Brazil and Mexico, based on the historical specificities, racial markers, and social configurations of each country. This study aims to comparatively analyze how affirmative action policies in higher education contribute to the educational inclusion of Afro-descendant populations in Brazilian and Mexican societies, taking into account their historical contexts, racial inequalities, and social dynamics. In Brazil, the Quota Law encompasses various social groups that have experienced — and continue to experience — historical discrimination. However, this research focuses specifically on the racial aspect, addressing self-declared Black and Brown individuals in Brazil, and Afro-Mexicans in the Mexican context. The study plays a crucial role in understanding the inclusion policies adopted in both countries. To that end, the research draws on conceptual categories grounded in the work of prominent scholars who have contributed to the theoretical development of public policy (Basso, Ferreira & Oliveira, 2022), racial inequality (Gonzalez, 2018), the Afro-Mexican population (Beltrán, 1981), self-identification (Ávila, 2018), intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2002), inclusion (Carvalho, 2016), affirmative action (Dias, 2012), racial quotas (Carvalho, 2016), and heteroidentification procedures (Nunes, 2018). The aim of this study is to analyze, from a comparative perspective, the social relations present in the Brazilian and Mexican contexts. Furthermore, it conducts a comparative review of inclusion and affirmative action policies for Afro-descendant populations in higher education in both countries. It also analyzes how racial dynamics unfold in the Mexican context in comparison to the Brazilian reality. Lastly, the study seeks to understand how affirmative action policies contribute to access to higher education in both nations. To achieve these objectives, a bibliographic review was conducted on the concepts previously mentioned, along with the collection of documents that allowed for an analysis of the implementation of the right to education for Black populations in Brazil and Mexico. The dissertation also includes a report on the academic exchange experience carried out in the city of Puebla, Mexico, and a case study involving students from both UFG and BUAP.The main findings of the research highlight the divergence between the factors influencing the self-identification of Black students in the two countries; the convergence in the way racism operates in Brazilian and Mexican societies; and the presence of institutional racism within higher education institutions in both national contexts.