Framing race and class in Brazil: Afro-Brazilian support for racial versus class policy

Abstract

Because of the strong correlation between race and class in Brazil, it has been difficult for scholars to assess the degree to which either provides Brazilians with politically relevant identities. The impacts of race and class are compared with a priming experiment using Afro-Brazilian subjects. The results indicate that subjects identifying as blacks are more responsive than non-black subjects to racial primes, resulting in stronger support for government intervention aimed at racial rather than class inequality. Relevant comparisons to race in the USA are discussed.