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ELECTIONS-BRAZIL: Black Voters Crucial for Lula

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 23 2006 (IPS) - Brazilians of African descent, who make up 47 percent of a total population of 187 million, did not increase their representation in parliament in the last elections, but are proving to be a decisive force in the likely reelection of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

For the first time, surveys have reflected voting tendencies among Brazil’s largest ethnic groups. The Datafolha Institute, linked to the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, found that 63 percent of the black voters they interviewed around the country early this month said they would vote for Lula in the Oct. 29 runoff.

By comparison, only 29 percent said they preferred opposition candidate Geraldo Alckmin. Among “pardos” (brown), as Afro-descendants of mixed ancestry are identified in the Brazilian census, the difference was less marked: 54 to 40 percent.

Among white voters, meanwhile, 51 percent favoured Alckmin and 42 percent said they would vote for Lula.

“The novelty and the grounds for new hope” is that in these elections the votes of Afro-Brazilians have been revealed as a decisive factor in Lula’s probable victory, which gives the black movement the strength to demand the enforcement of public policies for racial equality, said Edson Cardoso, the editor of Irohin, a bimonthly publication and Internet site devoted to fight discrimination.

The finding that “there is a black vote” opens new horizons to pressure the government and to unite the movement, which is “fragmented” and fails to express itself politically, Cardoso told IPS. “This could induce the government to get closer to the people and adopt more advanced policies in favour of equality,” he added.

The parliamentary elections, held simultaneously with the first round of the presidential elections on Oct. 1, did not increase the presence of black and “pardo” people in Congress, said Cardoso and Deise Benedito, the president of the non-governmental Fala Preta, which defends the rights of the black population, especially women.

It is not known precisely how many black and “pardo” members of Congress were elected, because the candidates’ ethnic background does not appear on the lists, unlike their gender. But the two activists estimated that there would be little change in the present imbalance, where there are only 20 Afro-descendant lawmakers in the 513-member Chamber of Deputies, and two senators out of a total of 81.

Furthermore, most black members of Congress are not committed to the cause of racial equality and act according to other priorities, Cardoso complained.

The scant black representation in parliament is largely due to the parties’ boycott of black candidates, as well as the lack of articulation of the black movement in its search for organisation and political power, he said.

Black candidates do not get the same financial support and other benefits from the parties as white candidates, Benedito added.

Furthermore, as they have been historically marginalised, they do not have knowledge and experience of electoral campaigns. Their role has been more that of mobilisation in support of white leaders, she added.

The movement did celebrate the large proportion of votes – 43.6 percent – garnered by Cristina Almeida, a black socialist candidate for senator in Amapá, even though she was defeated by former president José Sarney (1985-1990) for the single seat allocated to this small state in the extreme north of Brazil.

Meanwhile, two deputies who are important leaders in the fight against racism – Luiz Alberto dos Santos, in Bahia, the state with the largest black population, and Edson Santos, in Rio de Janeiro – were reelected.

The absence of black people in the corridors of political power is in contrast with the definite majority of Afro-descendants who will vote for Lula. The main factor influencing this choice is the identification of the poor with the president, because of his “simple way of talking, like ordinary people,” complete with grammatical mistakes, as well as his humble origins in the impoverished Northeast, Benedito told IPS.

That mass vote in Lula’s favour is also a response to the social programmes implemented by his government, which benefit millions of poor families. Then there is also the “revenge” vote by northeasterners and black people against those who discriminate against them, like the rich in southern Sao Paulo, represented by Alckmin, she said.

The black vote also has a component of “resistance to domination,” bound up in the history of Afro-descendants, Cardoso said. Blacks were enslaved until 1888 in Brazil, and then left to their own devices, treatment that is considered to be the main cause of the extreme poverty affecting the vast majority of black people.

The latest polls point to an increase in Lula’s advantage over his rival for the second round. On Oct.1 he had a seven-point lead over Alckmin, which has risen to a 20 to 24 percentage point difference in voting intentions.

While support for Lula among the poor has risen, support for his rival among the richest and most educated layers of society, which are predominantly white, has declined.

This reflects that even among the privileged, awareness of social inequalities is growing, and that Lula is identified with a programme of government that “is closer to their aspirations” for social justice, according to Sueli Carneiro, director of the Geledés Institute for Black Women.