81% of Brazilians believe that race influences police action
81% of Brazilians believe that the color of the skin is a determining factor for the police when deciding whether to carry out an intervention to a citizen, according to a study by Oxfam Brazil released on Monday.
The survey entitled "We and the inequalities", carried out by the NGO in collaboration with the firm Datafolha, also revealed that 71% of Brazilians think that justice is tougher with black people.
Regarding the workplace, 72% of respondents acknowledged that, in Brazil, the color of the skin influences companies when hiring and 52% said that black people have lower salaries for a racial issue.
This investigation is the second part of another already carried out in 2017 and 2,086 interviews were conducted throughout the national territory last February.
One of the main conclusions of the report, according to the NGO, is that the society of the South American giant "perceives the problems of income distribution in the country, but does not understand the real size of the inequalities".
In this line, the study revealed that 85% of the society believes that they belong to the poorest half, although 70% of the total also said they believe that in five years they will be in the upper or middle class.
Beyond the group in which they are framed, 86% agree that "Brazil's progress is directly related to the reduction of economic inequality between rich and poor."
The interviews also addressed the priorities that Brazilians consider most fundamental to "have a better life", among which the "religious faith" stood out in the first place, ahead of education (the second most answered as a first option) and access to health (the third most prioritized).
In terms of gender, 64% of participants thought that being a woman in Brazil impacts on the salary received, which is 7% more than what was said about the same issue in 2017.
Another issue addressed in the investigation is the opinion of Brazilians about the payment of taxes, which "should benefit the poorest" in the opinion of 94% of the population.
In addition, 77% believe that taxes on "very rich" people should increase to finance social policies.
Regarding the Government, 84% of Brazilians expressed their agreement with the fact that it is the Executive's obligation to reduce the difference between rich and poor, 5% more than in 2017.
In this line, the Brazilians also expressed that, when reducing inequalities, "the fight against corruption" should be the priority of the Government, above others such as "public investment in health", "the increase in job offer "or" investment in education ".
Precisely, the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, won the elections last October despite having sowed several controversies during his time as a deputy and his campaign for the elections of 2018 with homophobic, xenophobic and sexist statements, after presenting himself as a bulwark of the fight against corruption and economic improvement.
According to a statement released by the president of the Oxfam Brazil Deliberative Council, Oded Grajew, there is "a mismatch between society's perceptions of inequalities and the country's political agenda."
The executive director of the NGO, Katia Maia, also said that the country will only advance in the fight against inequality when some issues such as "racism", "gender discrimination" or "murders of young people in the periphery" have "the same urgency" that economic and fiscal issues. "
