Brazil: Information on alleged genocide of indians, mameltiques and mulattos
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BRA5904 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Brazil: Information on alleged genocide of indians, mameltiques and mulattos, 1 June 1990, BRA5904, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6accc88.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Please find attached a couple of documents which deal with the subject. Additional information can be found at your regional Documentation Centre. Sources there which may provide helpful information include Latinamerica Press, which has dealt in various recent issues with the situation of indigenous people and minorities in Latin America including Brazil, the World Directory of Minorities (London: Longman Publishing Group/ Minority Rights Group, 1989) and the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989 (Washington: U.S. Department of State, 1990).
The attached documents include:
-The Position of Blacks in Brazilian and Cuban Society, (London: Minority Rights Group, 1979), pp. 2-10;
-The Amerindians of South America, (London: Minority Rights Group, 1987), pp. 18-19;
-"The Indians", in Land Conflicts in Brazil, (Antwerp: Pax Christi International, 1988), pp. 14-15;
-"Indigenous People", in Brazil, (London: Amnesty International, 1988).
What follows is taken from the response to information request 3003 regarding the situation of blacks in Brazil. The reports indicate different forms of discrimination, but references to an alleged genocide of "mulattos" (mixture of blacks and whites) could not be found among these or other sources currently available to the IRBDC.
According to the belowlisted reports, blacks in Brazil -who make up about half the country's population- are victims of racism and have limited political rights and influence, despite the legal banning of racism. The articles provide different views on the problem. They include:
-Jackson inspires Brazil's blacks to struggle for political rights", in The Ottawa Citizen, 15 September 1988;
-"Blacks battle `subtle' racism", in The Christian Science Monitor, 9-15 May 1988;
-"Brazil's blacks feel prejudice 100 years after slavery's end", The New York Times, 14 May 1988 (2 pages);
-"Improving Brazilian social welfare proves far easier said than done", in The New York Times, 9 August 1988;
-"In the fight for a charter, war clubs have a place", 4 August 1988.
A 1986 report ("The Colours of Brazil", in The Economist, 10 May 1986, attached) states:
"Discrimination on the basis of race is illegal. Nevertheless, non-whites remain overwhelmingly poor, their education, health, housing, job opportunities and earnings are usually below the national average. At the beginning of 1986 of the 150,000 juveniles being held under a court order, 95% were non-whites. The average wage level of browns was 45% that of whites, that of blacks only, 35%. Cabinet, senior civil servants, the diplomatic corps and the top military commands are staffed almost entirely by whites."
(The documents originally attached to response 3003 can be
forwarded upon request if considered necessary)
