Bonificação regional: uma análise da constitucionalidade na perspectiva do TRF5

Abstract

This study examines the regional bonus policy adopted by Higher Education Institutions within the framework of the Sistema de Seleção Unificada (SISU), assessing its compatibility with the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 and with the legal framework governing affirmative action policies. The research initially provides a conceptual and historical overview of affirmative actions in Brazilian higher education, highlighting their constitutional foundations, legislative consolidation, and judicial validation by the Supreme Federal Court, particularly in ADPF 186/DF and RE 597.285/RS. Subsequently, the regional bonus policy is analyzed with regard to its origin, stated objectives, implementation mechanisms, and its distinction from racial and social quota systems. The study adopts a qualitative legal-dogmatic methodology, based on normative, doctrinal, and jurisprudential analysis, focusing exclusively on case law from the Federal Regional Court of the 5th Region. The findings indicate that the regional bonus policy, as currently applied, lacks specific legal authorization, relies on restrictive territorial criteria, and produces significant distortions of the principle of equality, thereby undermining legal certainty in the admission process. The study concludes that the regional bonus does not qualify as an affirmative action policy in constitutional terms, but rather constitutes a targeted and selective mechanism with exclusionary effects, capable of generating injustice, exclusion, and a high potential for judicialization, particularly by restricting access for candidates from open competition and socially disadvantaged groups not encompassed by the defined geographic criteria.