Abstract
This article discusses the practices of the Promotoria de Justiça de Direitos Humanos da Inclusão Social from the Ministério Público de São Paulo (Promotoria) in the fight against discrimination. By means of an ethnographic research, it analyzes the way in which the Promotoria positions itself in relation to four tensions faced by legal institutions when dealing with cases of discrimination: between solving a particular case or achieving social change of a structural nature (particular/structural); between utilizing instruments of repression or promoting measures to prevent the violation of rights (repression/prevention); between defining organizational structures for the citizen, seen as a universal concept, or directing institutional practices towards specific socially vulnerable groups (universal/specific); and between a technical and neutral view of the legal professional or a perception of the professional as promoting social impact through a dialogue with the civil society (technical/political). Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, the Promotoria displays an innovative sensitivity within the Ministério Público and among other institutions of the justice system. The institution carries out strategies that go beyond individual accountability: based on dialogue and agreements with different social actors, it seeks to promote educational measures, changes in institutional practices and improvements in public policies.
Structural discrimination; ethnography; justice system; Ministério Público; Promotoria de Justiça de Direitos Humanos da Inclusão Social.