Rights, inequality, and Afro-descendant heritage in Brazil

Abstract

For the past thirty years, the Brazilian government has recognized dozens of sites and cultural practices of Afro-descendant groups as national heritage, including the historical maroon site Quilombo dos Palmares. As this site has gained international notoriety, academic research has focused on the value of this historical landmark for commemorating Afro-Brazilian heritage. This article looks to the ambiguous effects of such commemoration on contemporary people living in the area, some of whom are being forcefully evicted from the site in connection with its heritage status. The article addresses the vulnerability experienced by these residents, as it highlights broader issues associated with multicultural and heritage-recognition policies in Brazil. Specifically, I analyze the policies protecting contemporary maroon descendants and sites to reveal why Palmares residents making claims on their land and heritage fall outside of state recognition. I argue that as these policies have become an increasingly powerful mechanism for protecting Afro-Brazilian and minority groups, they have also acquired the capacity to hurt the most vulnerable individuals within these communities. Two very different types of heritage stand to be protected at Palmares: one of the historical maroons and their contemporary kin, and another of the structurally unequal system that inadvertently replicates the oppression it intends to dismantle. In the context of massive inequality that disproportionately affects blacks, maroon descendants, indigenous, and other minority populations in Brazil, it is critical to consider how political strategies for redressing ethnoracial inequality may also end up perpetuating segregation.