Lula signs decree that provides for 30% of positions of trust in the government for blacks

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signed a decree to allocate at least 30% of positions of trust in the government to black people. The initiative was announced during a ceremony held to highlight the International Day of Struggle for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this Tuesday (21) at the Planalto Palace.

The government will have until December 31, 2026 to reach this minimum percentage of reserved vacancies. “Despite being the second largest black nation on the planet, Brazil still has not come to terms with its past 350 years of slavery. Despite all efforts and advances, this country still has an immense historical debt to redeem”, said Lula.

In addition to this initiative, the Ministry of Racial Equality launched a package with interministerial measures for racial equality in Brazil. Minister of the portfolio, Anielle Franco, announced the creation of the Aquilomba Brasil program, which will work to promote the rights of the quilombola population. According to the ministry, it is estimated that around 214,000 families and more than 1 million people in Brazil are quilombolas.

“The federal government placed the urgency of confronting racism at the center of this third administration, and therefore, we will not rest until no more black people in Brazil suffer from hunger, shooting, lack of opportunity and the systemic racism that deepens in many dimensions,” said the minister.

The government also announced the creation of three working groups that should prepare studies on the promotion of racial equality. Among the points to be evaluated in the WGs are the fight against religious racism and the elaboration of a program to reduce homicides and social vulnerabilities for black youth, called Plano Juventude Negra Viva. The WG at Cais do Valongo will articulate actions for the port area of ​​Rio de Janeiro, through which more than one million enslaved people have passed.

During the ceremony, Lula signed the titles of three quilombola territories: the community of Brejo dos Crioulos (MG), Lagoa dos Campinhos (SE), and Serra da Guia (SE). “Black people will not be treated by this government only as beneficiaries of social policies, but as protagonists of their own history”, said the president.