The construction of the brazilian national identity

Abstract

National identities are dialogically constructed, from an autodescription of culture. Cultures are ruled by two major principles: that of exclusion and that of participation. Based on these principles, the cultures autodescribe themselves as cultures of mixture or cultures of triage. Brazilian culture identifies itself as a culture of mixture. This paper aims to show how this autodescription was created and how it operates in the construction of the national identity.