This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).
Campinas’s Human Rights Reference Center (SP) received 107 complaints of racism, racial injury and religious discrimination up to November 11 of this year, more than double the 49 recorded in all of 2025. The 118.4% increase is the largest in the agency’s historical series, according to the newspaper Correio Popular.
The growth follows a national trend. A survey by a legal data platform cited by Correio Popular shows that, in 2026, Brazil opens an average of 11 cases of racial injury per day. The state of São Paulo has led the number of cases since 2023.
According to the city government, the jump in Campinas is directly tied to an anti-racism protocol adopted by the Education Department in the municipal school system. The initiative widened the network of support for victims, which, in practice, opens more paths for discrimination cases to reach a public agency instead of going unrecorded.
This explanation helps illustrate a common dilemma when complaint numbers rise: the increase may reflect more episodes of racism, but it may also indicate that more people have started to recognize discrimination, trust official channels and pursue their complaints. In Campinas’s case, the city government itself links the rise to expanded support, not to a change in the behavior of those who discriminate.
The distinction matters for public authorities, schools and companies. If the problem is underreporting, the response lies in strengthening and publicizing complaint channels; if the number of cases is really growing, the pressure falls on prevention, education and punishment.
Since 2023, racial injury has been equated with the crime of racism under Brazilian law, which makes it non-bailable and not subject to statute of limitations. Anyone who suffers or witnesses a case can file a police report (boletim de ocorrência) at any police station, including online in many states, call the Military Police at 190 in flagrant situations, or contact Disque 100, the national human rights hotline. In many cities, such as Campinas, there are also municipal reference centers that assist victims and forward complaints.
Campinas’s experience suggests that the structure of assistance makes a difference in how much of the problem becomes visible. For residents of other cities, the question that remains is whether their municipality offers similar channels and whether they actually reach those who need them, starting with schools.
Reporting from Correio Popular (p. 3 (nacional)), Correio Popular (p. 4 (Campinas/SP)).
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