The Ministry of Racial Equality (MIR) presented to religious leaders in Rio de Janeiro, this Wednesday (15), the National Policy for Traditional Peoples and Communities of Terreiro and African Matrix. The event took place at the Candomblé Ilê Axé Omiojuarô terreiro, in Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro.
Organized by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Criola, MIR and the terreiros Ilê Axé Omiojuarô and Ilê Axé Omi Ogun siwajú, the event addressed the importance of Decree 12,278/24 which aims to promote intersectoral measures to guarantee the rights of people and traditional terreiro and African-based communities in the country, based on recognition, respect and appreciation of the culture and memory of people of African descent, and overcoming racism .
For minister Anielle Franco, politics is a first step towards ending violence and religious racism.
“National policy is aligned with the federal government’s political project that represents all of us. We cannot naturalize the violence suffered by black people, and this plan represents a first step. We know it doesn’t end there. We need to take it forward, so that it does not become another action that got lost along the way. It’s part of what I believe in and, as long as I’m here, I will fight for it.”
The plan has 93 actions, involving 11 ministries. Among the main ones is the training of public security agents to act in cases of religious racism. Despite being an advance, Lúcia Xavier, general coordinator of the non-governmental organization Criola, highlights the importance of making funds available so that public policies can be implemented.
“We know that the MIR has a very low budget in relation to other ministries, but we request a close look at the budgetary issue for coping policies. The struggle of the black population for recognition of their rights is mainly carried out by black women.”
For Babalorixá Gustavo de Oxóssi, from Ilê Axé Omi Ogun siwajú, the policy is aligned with the recommendations of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations (CERD), which in 2022 included racial discrimination, based on religions of African origin. , as one of the major drivers of violence against Afro-descendant populations in Brazil.
“The national plan presented today is the consequence of the struggle that terreiro people have been carrying out for centuries. We achieved this intensification in recent years through the partnership of Casas de Axé and institutions such as the NGO Criola and the Instituto Raça e Igualdade. We managed to carry out international political advocacy work through the CERD, which recommended that the Brazilian State implement effective actions such as investigation, installation of specialized police stations, punishment of criminals and reparation for the people of terreiro”, he recalls.
Literature Prize
During the event, MIR also launched the Erê Dendê Award: the Wisdom of Terreiros, which will award works of children’s literature that value terreiro culture.
The award will include nine authors evaluated by the official jury, with R$ 20 thousand each, in addition to one author evaluated by the popular jury, with the same amount.
The project is a partnership between the Ministry of Racial Equality and the Federal University of Recôncavo Baiano (UFRB)
