Ironies of citizenship: Skin color, police brutality, and the challenge todemocracy in Brazil

Despite the transition from authoritarian rule to a democratically elected government in 1985, there remains in Brazil a persistent gap between the fo rmal principles and the actual practices of democracy. The gap is particula rly manifest in the daily contacts between citizens and representatives of state authority, especially regarding the treatment of Afro-Brazilians. Ana lyses of the "regulated" and "relational" character of citizenship in Brazi l as well as observations about the attitudinal dispositions of the members of the criminal justice system, suggest that Afro-Brazilians are likely to benefit from fewer protections compared to whites and are more likely to s uffer discrimination at the hands of the police. Analyses of the 1988 Natio nal Household Survey (PNAD-88) support both hypotheses: Net of statistical controls for key socioeconomic indicators, Afro-Brazilians are more likely than whites to be the victim of assault, and they are more likely to be ass aulted by the police. The findings show how the perceptions of class, color and criminality produce differential protections and treatments inconsiste nt with the attributes of universal citizenship. Our analysis points more g enerally to the formidable institutional and cultural challenges that confr ont the attempt to fully consolidate a democratic regime in Brazil.