Afro-Brazilian university to be launched

On Tuesday Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed into law the Racial Equality Statute, (RES), a measure that hopes to bring greater equality for the country’s Afro-Brazilian populace. An Afro-Brazilian university will be created as part as this plan according to Lula.

The Federal University for Portuguese-Afro-Brazilian Integration or Unilab will begin operations later this year in the northeastern state of Ceara. Aside from facilitating the education of roughly 2500 Brazilian students Unilab will also admit the same number of pupils from five African Portuguese-speaking countries including Angola and Mozambique. Hence, the federal university will “promote international cooperation between Brazil and African countries” via courses and other academic programs.

Aside from Unilab the RES includes making it easier for blacks to receive loans and mortgages and also initiates programs to preserve Afro-Brazilian culture. Yet some local bloggers were upset with the exclusion of a temporary form of affirmative action from the RES. Furthermore, the RES may do little to help to help residents of Afro- descendant communities near Sao Paulo who have been displaced by the construction and expansion of a space center:

Young women have few options. "University is a far-off dream for the majority, whose future will be housework, having children too early or migrating to urban centers to work as domestic employees or to swell the ranks of the unemployed or underemployed," (Regina Lúcia de Azevedo)Pacheco said. 

If they want to go for further studies, they have to leave, and that isn't easy for the family economy in the quilombo. "Sometimes girls repeat the final grade of primary school several times, because there is no way they can leave the communities," she said.

Image- Jornal Digital
Online Sources- LAHT, IPS, Xinhua, Global Voices Online

Daily Headlines: June 30, 2010

* U.S.: Peruvian-born, New York-based journalist Vicky Pelaez was arrested and has been accused along with ten others of spying for Russia.

* Cuba: Will the Obama administration close the prison at Guantanamo by 2013 after initially promising to shut it down this year?

* Brazil: Legislators recently approved a landmark racial equality law yet stopped short of enacting affirmative action policies.

* Ecuador: Allegations of illegal wiretaps against President Rafael Correa could seriously damage improving relations between Ecuador and Colombia.

Image – Grand Forks Herald (“In this courtroom sketch, Anna Chapman, left, Vicky Pelaez, second from left, the defendant known as "Richard Murphy", center, the defendant known as "Cynthia Murphy", second from right, and the defendant known as "Juan Lazaro" are seen in Manhattan federal court in New York, Monday, June 28, 2010.”)
Online Sources- WNYC, The Guardian, UPI, Reuters

Daily Headlines: February 17, 2010

* Latin America: Guinea pigs have been an Andean delicacy for centuries but could they also help end food shortages in the war-torn Congo?

* U.S.: A federal lawsuit seeking the return of affirmative action in Californian public university admissions is expected to be filed soon.

* Colombia: If you believe that Colombia’s FARC guerillas are going away anytime soon then you should think again.

* Mexico: The swine flu hysteria and the weakened economy have been blamed for causing a 15% dip in Mexican tourism last year.

Image – Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Online Sources- Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, UPI, Los Angeles Times