Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the multiple ambiguous ways Portuguese political parties approach the subject of racism, a topic of particular political and social discord in the Portuguese context, and how this discussion relates to the construction of a national norm and a national rhetoric.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses the multiple ambiguous ways Portuguese political parties, across the political spectrum, approach the subject of racism, a topic of particular political and social discord in the Portuguese context. It's based on an ongoing ethnography about Portuguese political parties views on immigration and racial and ethnic discrimination in articulation with the legal and symbolic boundaries of national belonging. On a local level, we focus on the political life of Loures, a multicultural town in the Lisbon district, where issues about migrant integration and interculturality are commonly present in local politics.

In 2020, a Portuguese citizen of African descent was murdered in Loures in a crime of racist nature, an event of national impact and media coverage, leading to an anti-racist rally and reopening the divisive discussion about racism. Although the legal system considered it a hate crime, our interviews with local politicians from different parties revealed an unexpected consensus: that it wasn't a racist crime. Considering this case, we propose discussing the meaning of the negation of racism, how it relates to the ways a national norm and a national rhetoric are constructed in the practices and speeches of political agents, and which categories of exclusion and belonging it implies. Moreover, we ponder how the cultural discussion of racism unveils a field of political division that doesn't exactly reflect the division between the left and right political fields. This discussion takes place in a context of conflicting demands regarding political representation and political uncertainty before a growing far-right.