After a long journey from India to Brazil, Alex and I landed in São Paulo. Our senses quickly picked up on differences between the two; from rapidly spoken Portuguese to the smell of meat and coffee to tall concrete buildings squeezed together on every block, it was clear that we were no longer in Ahmedabad. We soon learned that the city of São Paulo has a population of eleven million people. The size of the population combined with that of the city contribute to make São Paulo a city of gross inequality. For example, millions of residents live in the periphery of the city and must travel two to three hours a day in order to reach their jobs in the center of the city. This greatly affects their quality of life in comparison to those who have the means to both live and work downtown. During a lecture titled “Race: the Brazilian Perspective,” we learned that those who live in the periphery are more likely to be black. This present reality that often goes ignored has partly been constructed by Brazil’s political history.

Map of São Paulo City

In the 1930s, racial democracy emerged as a term used to express the idea that people of all races live under social equality. Brazil was under authoritarian rule when the term surfaced. In reality, the government used it as a means to further stifle Brazilians’ rights. This was because when the idea that everyone was Brazilian, no matter their race, was in place, there was little room for people to claim that they were being treated unequally. Later, when authoritarian rule came under attack, so did racial democracy. This was partly due to a study conducted by UNESCO, wherein the organization found high levels of inequality between whites and non-whites across Brazil. Sadly, the total overthrow of racial democracy took decades because the government had successfully made it so that criticizing racial democracy became an expression of anti-Brazilian sentiment. A victory came in 1988 when the new constitution strengthened anti-discrimination provisions. Although racial democracy is recognized today as a fallacy, there continue to be persistent differences between white and non-white educational and occupational attainment levels, especially in São Paulo. As mentioned, this is best exemplified by racial patterns across the city.

As we continue to explore São Paulo, from its center to its periphery, it will be interesting to learn more about challenges faced by the periphery and forms of resistance used to combat these challenges.