Brazil and its African mirror: discussing 'black' approximations in the South Atlantic

Abstract

The article links reflections about Brazilian race relations with institutional transnational dialogues between Brazil and ‘Africa’. I point out that although racial/cultural mixture and the ‘brown’ census category have traditionally reflected much of national identity in Brazil, Brazil today is increasingly spelling out its blackness, both on the national and international scenes. This is happening at a historical moment when programs of ‘black’ affirmative action and other differential politics in favor of Afro-descendants are taking off in the country, and also at a time when Brazil is expanding its geopolitical and economic interests in Africa, by and large under the name of ‘South-South cooperation’. By my analysis, I suggest that while Africa is an interesting terrain for Brazilian geopolitical expansion and leadership in the South Atlantic, these transatlantic links may also represent a new frontier for the study of race relations in Brazil.