Democratic resistance: the racial question and the 1988 federal constitution

Abstract

In a retrospective approach, this article aimed at reviewing the discussions on ethno-racial issues in the context of the National Constituent Assembly, responsible for the development of the Federal Constitution of 1988, considered the “citizen constitution”. In the context of its 30 years, it is important to recognize in this Constitution both the limits of the political cope of its text in the treatment of the racial issue and the advances that would derive from it in the anti-racist struggle – advances mainly related to the implementation of its complementary laws. The article will address the ambiguities of the constitutional text in the field of education, and will point out the relevant developments in the struggle for racial equality and affirmative action.