Brazil could elect first black president – so why isn’t anyone talking about it? (+video)

Marina Silva is Brazil’s first presidential candidate to identify herself as black. It hasn’t been treated as a landmark moment in this majority afro-descendant population, however, despite an ongoing struggle with racial inequality.

By Taylor Barnes, Correspondent October 4, 2014 – CSM

Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil sings a song he composed for presidential candidate Marina Silva of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) during a meeting with artists and intellectuals at a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

RIO DE JANEIRO — The official jingle for Marina Silva’s presidential campaign discreetly refers to the candidate’s skin color: “She’s going to come with her tan skin and popular appeal…. She’s going to be so different, and for that reason, so similar to all of us.”

The brief line – among diverse references to how she appeals to all Brazilians of all creeds – is symbolic. After her years in the public eye as a politician and activist, Brazilians know well the personal story of Ms. Silva: She hails from an impoverished family of 11 children in a remote corner of the Amazon, worked as a housemaid, and was illiterate until the age of 16. She’s a devout Pentecostal Christian and an outspoken environmentalist. 

But in one of the most diverse nations in the world, few are talking about the fact that, if victorious, Ms. Silva would be Brazil’s first president who identifies as black. It’s put a spotlight on how race is – and isn’t – discussed here, and what that means for a nation that often describes itself as a “racial democracy” but still suffers from deep inequality and discrimination that fall along racial lines.  [Read more]