Latin America Today
Afro-Descendants and Democracy : What are We Talking About ?
Jorge Rafael Ramírez Peruvian Master Student ( CAPES Grant ) in Politics and Social Service State University of Londrina ( UEL ), Brazil
Angie Edell Campos Lazo Peruvian Interdisciplinary Master Student ( CAPES ) in Community Development UNICENTRO ( Irati ), Brazil
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ur discussion is a contribution for understanding the political insertion of the Afro-descendant population in the logic of democracy , not only as an individual expression , but also as a collective action that opens the debate on inequalities and the struggle for better living conditions . The new expressive forms of inequality and poverty bring new critical ways of understanding social justice and organization . This is a challenge for both the society and its interpreters trying to comprehend the diverse social phenomena and to mobilize for the rights of Afro-descendants and for some structural changes . Diverse social aspects of our life are considered as daily routine , and it ´ s unknown that many of them have resulted from norms agreed by the haves for being applied to the havenots . These norms left aside many features of the currently-in-dispute democracy . As the society rapidly progresses , we need to understand its logic to see how social exclusions affecting Afro-descendant communities in Latin America are also in progress . In the electoral campaigns for state representatives , we generally heard a variety of discourses about the importance of political , citizen and democratic participation , especially by the groups in vulnerable situations . But the Afro-descendant population is not properly included in these groups and the discourses are frequently generated in a repetitive way without making clear which actions should be taken . Hence , let ’ s ask ourselves : how can we live in a society where such values are hegemonic ? Herein we intend to analyze and to discuss democracy , as well as to contextualize its importance for social development and access to decision-making spaces . The process of democratic nationbuilding faces some dilemmas nowadays . They are rooted in a perverse conspiracy between two different processes linked to two different political projects : " a process of expanding democracy , which is expressed in the creation of public spaces [ and ] the increasing engagement of the civil society in the processes of discussion and decision-making related to public issues and policies " ( Vianna , Dagnino and Silva , 2002 , apud DAGNINO , 2004 , 141 ). The lack of one or the other can drastically affect the quality of the democratic exercise . It ’ s important to add that , in recent years , our Latin America society has undergone through various paradigms and challenges for consolidating these practices exerting profound influence on democratic sovereignty .
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