[News] The racist roots of the coup d’état against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/05/16/the-racist-roots-of-the-coup-detat-against-president-dilma-rousseff/ 



  The racist roots of the coup d’état against President Dilma Rousseff

May 16, 2016

*Note from BW of Brazil*: /Unless you’ve been living under a rock for 
the past week, or just don’t really tuned into news coming out of 
Brazil, you know that President Dilma Rousseff was removed suspended 
from the Presidency for a period of 180 days and replaced by her 
Vice-President Michel Temer. This writer’s official position on major 
political parties and politicians is that they are ALL dirty and have 
skeletons in their closet. These are just the facts of how politics 
work. Do your own research and you’ll surely come to the same 
conclusion. As such, the object of this post is not the defense of Dilma 
or her Workers’ Party that has ruled Brazil since 2003. Within the 
struggle for rights of///afrodescendentes///(people of African descent) 
in Brazil, there are numerous problems with justifyingAfro-Brazilian 
full support of Dilma 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/03/24/where-were-black-brazilians-during-the-protests-calling-for-the-presidents-removal-they-came-out-in-force-in-a-separate-rally-in-her-support/> 
or the PT (see here 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/04/27/what-do-blacks-have-to-do-with-the-impeachment-process-against-president-dilma-rousseff/> and 
here 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/04/21/as-an-impeachment-process-clouds-the-future-of-brazils-president-how-should-blacks-position-themselves-on-the-political-crisis/>). 
The fact is, the PT has been called out by a number of black voices who 
see the party as exploiting the huge Afro-Brazilian demographic to 
continue its reign without promising anything in return for the 
community’s support 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2015/06/04/brazils-workers-party-has-been-in-power-since-2002-with-strong-support-from-afro-brazilians-but-does-the-party-simply-exploit-the-black-vote-to-remain-in-power/>. 
No, today’s post is in no way an endorsement of Dilma or the PT’s 
policies but rather a recognition that something more is at play here. /

*The coup d’état against Dilma is racist*

By Dennis Oliveira

Why is the coup d’état being mounted by the opposition, with (President 
of the Chamber of Deputies/Speaker of the Lower House) Eduardo Cunha (1) 
at the front, racist? Many will say, after all, Dilma is not black. And 
others, that the policies to combat racism developed in her government 
and that of (former President) Lula (da Silva) are timid and insufficient.

I completely agree. Dilma is not black and, therefore, it’s not due to 
her person that they want to remove her. And this Quilombo column has 
heavily criticized the anti-racism policies developed in government for 
their timidity and lack of resources.

But whoever wants to remove the Dilma government doesn’t do so because 
of this. It is precisely because they don’t even accept the few racial 
and social inclusion policies made in recent years 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/03/16/protest-against-president-again-features-nearly-all-white-upper-middle-class-displays-of-racism-desire-to-protect-status-and-putting-have-nots-back-in-their-place/>.

The argument of the impeachment request is “fiscal pedaling.” Note that 
the argument focuses on alleged misuse of budget funds to account for 
social programs. The government supposedly used, wrongly according to 
the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União or Federal Court of Accounts), 
between 2012 and 2014, R$ 40 billion financed by public banks for the 
payment of social and welfare benefits, such as Bolsa Família 
unemployment insurance and subsidies to agricultural production.

A question that doesn’t offend: if these “undue” resources had been used 
to save bankrupt banks, would this controversy be going on? I doubt it.

For the /golpistas/ (supporters of the coup), the fact that 73% of the 
Bolsa Família beneficiaries 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2014/10/24/heading-to-the-polls-on-sunday-millions-of-afro-brazilians-will-remember-that-they-have-been-the-greatest-beneficiaries-of-government-social-programs/> 
are black and that 68% of beneficiary families are headed by black women 
bothers them.

And that 80% of beneficiaries of the program “Água para Todos” (Water 
for All) (construction of cisterns) are black. In the Luz para Todos 
(Lights for All) Program, the percentage of blacks among the 
beneficiaries is also 80%.

In Pronatec (Programa Nacional de Acesso ao Ensino Técnico e Emprego or 
National Program of Access to Technical Training and Employment), 68% of 
the registrations recorded in 2014 were /jovens negros/ (black youth). 
The “Minha Casa, Minha Vida” (My House, My Life) program has among its 
beneficiaries, 70% /famílias negras/ 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2014/10/24/heading-to-the-polls-on-sunday-millions-of-afro-brazilians-will-remember-that-they-have-been-the-greatest-beneficiaries-of-government-social-programs/> 
(black families).

Not to mention the racial quota programs and ProUni 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/?s=prouni> (Programa Universidade Para 
Todos or University for All Program) which also allowed a record access 
of young blacks to higher education.

Small advances? No doubt. Problems persist, mainly because in the 
government an effective anti-racism program, institutional strengthening 
of the agencies responsible for that – there was a setback with the 
ending of the Seppir ministry 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2014/12/31/nilma-lino-gomes-the-first-black-woman-to-be-dean-of-a-federal-university-assumes-role-of-minister-of-racial-equality-polices-of-federal-government/> 
– the establishment of goal setting plans and constant evaluations, the 
actual combat, beyond rhetoric, to the genocide of black youth 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/?s=genocide+%22black+youth%22> (the 
Juventude Viva – Youth Alive program just came out with of a letter of 
intent), among others still have yet to crystallize.

But the coup against Dilma is racist because it is supported precisely 
by people who feel uncomfortable with these small advances. They are 
those who are uncomfortable with black people frequenting university 
campuses and sharing space with the children of the elite 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2016/04/20/the-resentment-of-studying-in-the-same-classroom-as-the-black-maids-daughter/>. 
Or that they find in lines at airports those black women who should be 
their servants 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2012/09/21/80-of-brazils-new-middle-class-is-black-and-upper-and-upper-middle-class-consumers-are-none-too-pleased-about-it/>. 
Or those who shout against “consumerism” mainly due to seeing the mall 
with many more black faces than they would like 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/?s=rolezinho+mall>.

These same /golpistas/ advocate the reduction of the legal age of 
criminal responsibility 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2015/06/24/reduction-of-age-of-criminal-responsibility-will-legitimize-genocide-of-black-youth-reports-show-that-it-doesnt-solve-the-problem/>. 
They maintain that the woman who aborts is criminal and must be 
arrested. That /favelas/ (slums) should be besieged by police 
<https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/?s=UPPs+favela+occupation>.

Racism <https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/?s=racism> is not only the 
explicit behavior of disliking blacks, racism is also a political 
attitude that forbids the social inclusion of black men and women. 
Therefore, these /golpistas/ are racist. And the coup against Dilma is 
racist.

*Source*: Revista Fórum 
<http://www.revistaforum.com.br/quilombo/2015/12/03/o-golpe-contra-dilma-e-racista/>

*Note*

 1. Cunha has been indicted in the scandal known as Lava Jato (Operation
    Car) Wash involving the state-owned oil company Petrobras. Cunha was
    suspended as speaker of the lower house by Brazil’s Supreme Court on
    5 May 2016 due to allegations that he attempted to intimidate
    members of Congress, and obstructed investigations into his alleged
    receipt of bribes. Source <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Cunha>

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