“There’s no such thing as a poor white person, right?”

Senator Jorge Seif (PL-SC) criticized this Thursday (14) the use of quotas in competitions and entrance exams based on racial and gender criteria. According to the parliamentarian, “meritocracy” should be taken into account, that is, individual effort and merit to guarantee fair opportunities.

“Meritocracy, for those who are not accustomed to the idea, proposes that access to positions, opportunities, resources must be based on individual merit, which includes dedication, study, personal effort, talent, perseverance, resilience. And For meritocracy to function fairly, it is essential that everyone has access to the same opportunities, but this is not the reality in our country, especially when it comes to public education”, said Seif during a speech on the Senate floor.

In the parliamentarian’s assessment, although the quotas emerged as an attempt to correct historical inequalities, there is concern that these policies make minorities inferior. “The left insists on this narrative of inferiorizing minorities!”, he pointed out.

As a fairer alternative, he defended social quotas and emphasized that economic and social need should be the main criterion for granting opportunities, regardless of skin color.

“There is no such thing as poor white people, right? If we go to a needy community in Rio, favelas, stilt houses, warehouses, there are no poor white people in all of Brazil, right? Or are there only poor black people? So, the social quota is the following: regardless skin color, if the person hasn’t had as many opportunities, is part of an age group, if the family doesn’t have that minimum income, they do have to have access”, he declared.

To exemplify the racial quota criterion, Seif recalled the case of identical twin brothers who were approved at the University of Brasília, “one was considered mixed race and entered through the quotas, the other was not – the guys were identical brothers!” “So these are subjective criteria that give rise to all kinds of injustices”, he reinforced.

Seif also criticized the proposal for trans quotas, arguing that subjective criteria, such as gender identity, should not be used to determine access to roles and opportunities. He stressed that everyone should be treated equally before the law, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“It is a criterion that is not objective, it does not prove whether a person is trans or not, whether they are homo or not. What does the criterion of sexual option have to do with how a person sees themselves, how they feel, with quotas in companies and state-owned companies, in public banks and public positions, in universities? It’s going to become a party,” he said.