Positive discrimination measures in the constitutional State

Abstract

This paper seeks to show that the incorporation of affirmative action measures is closely related to the principle of equality. The purpose of affirmative measures is to provide preferential treatment to members of groups that have been subject to systematic and historical exclusionary treatment. In such cases, the principle of non-discrimination could become an instrument that perpetuates and reinforces situations of structural inequality. The state, as an organizer of consensus, builds collective solidarities, which tend to veil the structural rifts of society and its biases. In order for mediations between state and society not to be limited to mere discourse, they must be underpinned by an ideology of equality.Only the instituting character of politics has the capacity to achieve this goal. Thus, public policies must be aimed at implementing positive discrimination measures that allow for the inclusion of otherness. In this way, progress could be made towards the materialization of a democracy in a material sense, where otherness occupies a place of equal relevance to sameness.