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Campaign Strategies of Afro-Brazilian Politicians: A Preliminary Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Gladys Mitchell
Gladys Mitchell*
Affiliation:
Duke University. glm2@duke.edu
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Abstract

Racial politics in Brazil have changed dramatically: the nation-state that once denied racism now enacts racial policies for Afro-Brazilians. The discourse of race has also changed: it is now common for the media to discuss Afro-Brazilians as a voting bloc. Using qualitative methods, this article tests the hypothesis that Afro-Brazilian politicians seek a racial vote from the Afro-Brazilian electorate. Analyzing campaign advertisements from select candidates in Salvador and São Paulo, this study finds that most Afro-Brazilian politicians use racial cues, and interviews show that most Afro-Brazilian politicians address racial issues during their campaigns. Not all of them seek racial votes, however: at the federal level, Afro-Brazilian politicians believe that this strategy would not get them elected. Many use campaigns nevertheless to raise racial consciousness among the electorate.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , Fall 2009 , pp. 111 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2009

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