Black Social Movements and State in Brazil: The Issue of Co-Optation

Abstract

This paper explored the relationship between Brazilian Black Movement organizations and the State in order to create new institutional instances to fight racial discrimination in Brazil. Using discourse analysis, we analysed the discourses produced by several players regarding the implementation of the Special Secretariat for Promotion of Policies for Racial Equality (SEPPIR) in the widest context of the debate concerning public policies to fight racial inequality in Brazil throughout the years. We understood the role of co-optation in the process of making sense and constructing institutional spaces to implement public policies to overcome racial inequalities in Brazil. Traditionally regarded as an organization dysfunction, co-optation may be viewed as a process that emphasizes change in participation and representation.