Public Opinion and Affirmative Action Policies in Brazil

Affirmative action is a contention policy domain. Explanations for why the public support or oppose affirmative action have typically focused on left-right divides regarding the role of government; competition and the perception of threat; and racial prejudice. Many studies have focused on the U.S. context, but Brazil has recently introduced affirmative action policies affecting both admission to federal universities and public sector employment. To date, a body of research has focused on the effects of these new quotas on higher education, but studies have not explored the public perceptions toward affirmative action quotas now utilized for hiring for the federal bureaucracy. We turn to a unique survey asked of a random sample of the Brazilian population to evaluate attitudes toward affirmative action. Our analysis sheds new light on debates in the literature on the determinants of public opinion in this domain, while also speaking more generally to the public debate about affirmative action in Brazil and beyond.