Created two years ago, in November 2023, the black bench of , which brings together 135 of the 513 deputies, sees for the first time the political conditions to include in the Federal Constitution a fund to finance .
The assessment is by deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), rapporteur of the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) that establishes a national fund of R$ 20 billion, and is based on three factors — the unprecedented consonance between members of the left and right around a common agenda, and the intention of black and brown people.
Authored by the coordinator of the black bench, deputy Damião Feliciano (União Brasil-PB), PEC 27/2024 has already been approved by the CCJ (Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission) and should be voted on on Tuesday (25) in the special commission created to analyze it. There is, however, no prediction of when the next stage, the vote in the plenary, will take place.
Orlando Silva’s report, which makes some changes to the original text, was filed last Wednesday (19). The approval of the PEC is the priority of the black bench at this time.
“What’s different about this legislature is that we managed to create an environment for dialogue between the left, the center and the right around the agenda of promoting racial equality. This didn’t exist before. This agenda was treated as a left-wing thing”, says Orlando Silva to Sheet.
The dialogue has become more productive, according to the rapporteur, because the country now has more research and reliable data than . “You don’t just focus on the ideological political debate, but you debate the evidence”, he states.
The task is not easy. Damião Feliciano lists other initiatives by the Legislature (five bills and three PECs since 1988) to create racial equality funds that ended up being shelved or, as he states, “remained almost invisible”.
The objective of the PEC is the economic emancipation of the black population.
“The anti-racist fight in Brazil is evolving more on an institutional level than on a real level. Economic and social data have improved a little, but very little. If we look at the violence data, for example, violence against the black population is even more brutal. In people’s real lives, in the economy and in society, especially in terms of work, income and violence, Brazil owes a lot to the black people.”
The National Fund for Economic Reparation and Promotion of Racial Equality (FNREPIR), for , would initially be valid for 20 years, and the Union would have to allocate R$1 billion per year to it, an amount that would not be counted towards the fiscal target limit. The fund would be supervised by a deliberative council made up of members of public authorities and civil society.
For Orlando Silva, the fund should not be eternal, but temporary. “We hope that in 20 years we will have advanced.”
The PEC foresees as sources of financing, in addition to the Union contribution, amounts obtained from convictions by and by , national and international donations and contributions from public and private slavery reparation programs.
One of the discussions in the special commission involves the use of the fund to encourage entrepreneurship among black men and women and, thus, guarantee equal conditions for them to participate in the economic game, as the PEC’s justification points out.
“This even helps to mitigate the controversy between left and right. Often, right-wing conservatives say that the left only cares about social policy, but it has to have economic freedom”, says the rapporteur.
According to the proposal, the Constitution now establishes that combating prejudice and promoting racial equality are the duty of the State and society, with racial equality being a fundamental right that requires permanent measures and affirmative actions.
The PEC establishes that public policies in this sense must be transversal, involving different ministries, in addition to states and municipalities, which could also set up their own funds and receive funds directly from the national fund. Specifically mentioned is the recognition of African-based religions and .
In the Chamber, the coordinator participates in the college of party leaders, a body that prepares the voting agenda and decides on the main themes of the House.
The participation of deputies in the black bench does not depend on formal membership. The list of 135 members considers all elected officials who declared themselves black or mixed race when registering at the polls — electoral legislation requires parties to allocate 30% of their electoral and party funds to black candidates.
The list of members of the bench is diverse, and some of the members admit that it is possible that many colleagues, outside the electoral context, do not identify themselves as black.
Other proposals from the Chamber’s black bench already approved
2023 – UPDATE OF QUOTAS IN UNIVERSITIES
Approval of the new Law, which updates and expands quotas for places in higher education, including quilombolas among other measures
2023 – NATIONAL HOLIDAY
Approval of the law that makes National Zombie Day a public holiday throughout the country; first year of validity was 2024
2024 – NAS RACIAL COTA
Approval of PEC that obliges political parties to allocate 30% of electoral fund and party fund resources to black and brown candidates
2024 – RACIAL QUOTA IN PUBLIC COMPETITIONS
Approval of the law that reserves 30% of vacancies in public competitions and temporary selections for black, indigenous and quilombola people
