Brasília, March 15, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Provisional Measure (MP) that regulates the quota policy for Afro-Brazilians and Indians in public universities should be signed this week by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to the Minister of Education, Tarso Genro, who was in Juiz de Fora (MG) on Friday (12), to give the inaugural address at the federal university there (UFJF).

The quota policy was broadly debated with Minister Matilde Ribeiro, of the Special Secretariat of Policies to Promote Racial Equality, and, according to Genro, it is being treated as an affirmative action policy, because it benefits the low-income population.

The MP makes it mandatory for universities to reserve places, but it does not violate university autonomy, since each institution will decide how to apply it. (DAS)