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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Africa overseas: Brazil's African heritage re-examined |
Author: | Mulikita, M.-Njunga |
Year: | 1992 |
Periodical: | Internationales Afrikaforum |
Volume: | 28 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 55-65 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Subsaharan Africa Brazil |
Subjects: | Afro-Brazilians diasporas foreign policy |
Abstract: | Brazil's attempt to portray itself as a bridge between black Africa and the Americas is founded upon two assumptions: 1) the cultural-racial factor (Brazil's much vaunted success in blending and synthesizing European values with African traditions, thus making Brazil the world's sole model of a veritably viable racial democracy); 2) the technological-economic factor (Brazil's vibrant economy reportedly possessed the innovative capacity to modify and supply appropriate technology to African States on conditions that are humane and just when compared to the stringent terms demanded by the advanced industrialized countries). This article critically examines these assumptions and shows that, contrary to Brazil's statements, the African diaspora in Brazil is caught in a 'cycle of cumulative disadvantage that prevents it from rising very far up the socioeconomic scale', and that African-Brazilians appear to have no role in the formulation of their country's Africa policy. Prejudice and discrimination may be proscribed in modern Brazil, but they still appear to thrive. The author advocates that African politicians, scholars and journalists should adopt a more critical stance towards Brazil's grandiose pronouncements regarding its African connections. Notes, ref. |