Brazil Has Strengthened Its Anti-Racism Laws. But How Do We Change Mindsets?

Last week, The Economist highlighted an important aspect of Brazil's current reality. In an article titled "Brazil has the world's strictest laws against racist speech," the magazine argues that Brazil has one of the world's toughest legal frameworks for combating racist speech. At the same time, it notes the growing number of racism-related cases and raises an important question: does this increase reflect a less racist society, or simply one that is becoming more willing to hold perpetrators accountable?

Brazil has made significant progress in its legal response to racism. The 1988 Constitution established racism as a non-bailable and imprescriptible crime. More recently, rulings by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and Law No. 14,532/2023 placed racial insult (injúria racial) on the same legal footing as the crime of racism.

For many years, racist behavior was dismissed as "jokes," "harmless comments," or simply "opinions." Today, there is a growing understanding that racial discrimination causes both individual and collective harm and must be addressed by the State.

Yet one question remains: can a society truly change simply by making its laws stricter?

Legislation is essential. It protects rights, establishes boundaries, and holds accountable those who violate human dignity. But no law, on its own, can transform beliefs and structures that have been built over centuries.

Research conducted by ActionAid, Projeto SETA, Peregum, and IPEC helps illustrate this challenge. Although 81% of Brazilians acknowledge that the country is racist, most still identify racism primarily as interpersonal acts, such as insults and verbal or physical aggression. Only 5% see institutional practices within government agencies and organizations as its main expression. At the same time, 84% believe that Black and white people are treated differently by the police, highlighting that racism is also embedded in public institutions.

This debate has also reached Brazil's Supreme Federal Court. In its ruling on ADPF 973 ("Black Lives ADPF"), the Court recognized the existence of structural racism in Brazil and ordered measures to address it. However, it stopped short of declaring an "unconstitutional state of affairs" resulting from institutional racism. In other words, while the Court acknowledged that racism requires continuous action by the State, it also recognized that overcoming it depends on changes that extend far beyond the justice system.

That is why punishment remains necessary—but punishment alone is not enough.

Addressing racism requires education, long-term public policies, stronger institutions, greater representation, reduced inequalities, and genuine opportunities for historically marginalized groups.

Perhaps the true measure of our progress will not be the number of convictions, but our ability to build a society in which such convictions become increasingly unnecessary. Achieving that depends on the law, certainly—but also on education, public policy, and lasting cultural change.