The approval of ethnic-racial quotas at the University of São Paulo in 2017: the viewpoint of pro-quotas articulators

Abstract

The implementation of ethnic-racial quotas at the University of São Paulo (USP), which reserved seats in a proportion similar to the Quota Law, was preceded by prolonged institutional resistance. This study investigates the reasons behind USP's late adherence to quotas, focusing on the main proponents of quotas. Interviews were conducted with Student Representatives, members of the Black Movement, the Student Movement, and faculty involved in the approval of quotas. The history of affirmative action policies at USP and the University Council meeting of 4/07/2017, where quotas were approved, were examined. The results indicate that pro-quota movements adopted the strategy of pressuring the university, highlighting its delay in relation to affirmative actions, and that the approval of quotas was not driven by a conviction of the USP administration in the importance of ethnic-racial and socioeconomic diversity among incoming students, as per institutional discourse, but rather due to external and internal pressures, which created the need to protect the institution's reputation.