Racial politics in Brazil have changed dramatically: the nation‐state that once denied racism now enacts racial policies for Afro‐Brazilians. The discourse of race has also changed: it is now common for the media to discuss Afro‐Brazilians as a voting bloc. Using qualitative methods, this article tests the hypothesis that Afro‐Brazilian politicians seek a racial vote from the Afro‐Brazilian electorate. Analyzing campaign advertisements from select candidates in Salvador and São Paulo, this study finds that most Afro‐Brazilian politicians use racial cues, and interviews show that most Afro‐Brazilian politicians address racial issues during their campaigns. Not all of them seek racial votes, however: at the federal level, Afro‐Brazilian politicians believe that this strategy would not get them elected. Many use campaigns nevertheless to raise racial consciousness among the electorate.

Alguns estudiosos não examinam identidade racial de grupo entre os afro-brasileiros por causa da história do Brasil como uma nação racialmente mista. Dada a crescente força dos movimentos negros e a adoção de políticas raciais como ações afirmativas, que pressupõem a existência de grupos raciais, é necessário examinar se a identidade racial de grupo é saliente. Utilizando dados coletados em survey original de 2006, em Salvador e São Paulo, há evidências de que uma maioria esmagadora de afro-brasileiros se identifica como um grupo racial. Além disso, existe uma relação positiva e estatisticamente significante entre a identificação como um grupo racial e de voto para políticos negros em Salvador, porém não em São Paulo.
A number of scholars do not examine racial group identity among Afro-Brazilians because of Brazil's history as a racially mixed nation. Given the growing strength of the black movements and the enactment of racial policies such as affirmative action that presume the existence of racial groups it is necessary to examine if racial group identity is salient. Using original survey data collected in 2006 in Salvador and São Paulo, Brazil, there is evidence that an overwhelming majority of Afro-Brazilians in identify as a racial group. Furthermore, there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between identifying as a racial group and voting for black politicians in Salvador but not in São Paulo

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Race, Brazil, Politics, Afro-Brazilians,

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