Study on the adoption and implementation of ethnic-racial quotas policy at the University of Campinas

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the adoption and implementation of the politics of ethnic-racial quotas at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). In order to do, we describe the political and academic processes and disputes that culminated in the adoption of this affirmative action. Methodologically, we use as a guide the approach of "educational policy contexts", dividing the ways in which the quota debate has permeated the university: context of influence on the debate on quotas (external and internal); context of text production (elaborated policy); and the context of practice (effectiveness). In general, some conflicts were perceived in the three contexts, mainly by the discussion about the effectiveness of the inclusion mechanisms already implemented by the university to the detriment of quotas. The issue of merit in the academy was fought by student and social movements, as well as teachers favoring quotas, underscoring Unicamp's delay in its implementation in relation to the consolidation of affirmative actions in other Brazilian universities. Therefore, the approvals regarding the creation and approval of the “Working Group-Enter University” report could be carried out due to the context of influence (with strong support from student and social movements and current legislation), which emphasized the context of the production of text, with the insertion of the premises, and also, due to the window of opportunity is the national scenario, with important experiences, or the entry of a new management at Unicamp.