THE BRAZILIAN CONSTRUCTION OF RACE: A CATEGORY IN DISPUTE

Abstract

This article analyzes the historical and discursive construction of the concept of race in Brazil, understanding it as a social and analytical category whose centrality remains in the organization of racial inequalities, despite the absence of biological foundations. The objective of the study is to examine how different perspectives—biological, cultural, and sociological—have shaped specific meanings of race within Brazilian social thought. Of a theoretical-analytical and descriptive nature, the article is grounded in a critical review of the literature on race and racism. The analysis shows that, although the meanings attributed to race have changed over time, racism has remained an operative structure, reconfiguring itself through new languages. It is concluded that the category of race—a shifting concept under constant dispute—continues to be indispensable for a critical understanding of Brazilian reality and for confronting racial inequalities.