INSTITUTIONAL IMPROVEMENT AS A MEANS OF STRENGTHENING: THE REVIEW OF THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF BAHIA IN THE CONTEXT OF TWO DECADES OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This article examines the review of the Affirmative Action Policy of the State University of Bahia (UNEB), approved by the University Council on August 19, 2026, focusing specifically on the amendment of CONSU Resolution No. 1,663/2024, with changes to Articles 1, 19, 20, 29, and 30 of the Sole Annex. The analysis situates this review within the historical trajectory of the consolidation of affirmative action policies in Brazilian public higher education institutions. It argues that the approved changes should be understood as an institutional improvement of the instruments for implementing the policy, rather than as a reduction of rights or a weakening of its inclusive commitment. To this end, the constitutional principles of substantive equality, social justice, historical reparation, and the democratization of knowledge production are articulated with the contributions of Fernandes (1964), Moura (1988), Abdias do Nascimento (1978; 1980), Beatriz Nascimento (2021), Gonzalez (2020), Bairros (1995), Munanga (1999), Carneiro (2023), Gomes (2017), Bento (2022), Crenshaw (2002), Collins (2019), and Akotirene (2019), as well as with recent literature on affirmative action in undergraduate and graduate education. It is argued that UNEB’s experience is part of a stage of maturation of affirmative action policies in Brazil, marked by the need to continuously evaluate their instruments in order to ensure access, retention, degree completion, and the qualified participation of historically marginalized subjects in scientific production.