The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and other entities filed this Monday (26) unconstitutionality actions with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to suspend the Santa Catarina law that prohibits the reservation of racial quotas for the admission of students to educational institutions that receive public funds from the state.
In addition to the OAB, the rule is also questioned by the PSOL, the PT, the National Union of Students (Une), the Black Coalition for Rights and Educafro – an association that fights for the inclusion of black people, in particular, and the poor in general, in public or private universities, with scholarships.
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The entities intend to suspend the Law 19,722/2026which was approved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Santa Catarina (Alesc) and sanctioned by governor Jorginho Melo.
The rule allows the reservation of places only for people with disabilities, students from public schools or based on exclusively economic criteria.
For the OAB, the Supreme Court has already validated the constitutionality of affirmative policies for student admission through racial quotas.
“The absolute prohibition imposed by state law, by prohibiting, en bloc, any differentiated measure aimed at promoting material equality in access to public functions in universities, ignores the complexity of inequalities and imposes a rigidly formalistic conception, already surpassed by contemporary democratic constitutionalism”, stated the OAB.
The other entities added that the Court also defined that the country has a duty to combat structural racism.
“The risk lies in maintaining the effectiveness of this law, which could bring irreversible damage to universities and, mainly, to the black and indigenous population of Santa Catarina and the entire country”, they argued.
The actions will be reported by minister Gilmar Mendes. There is no deadline for decision.
