RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The national coordinator of the Unified Black Movement (MNU), Iêda Leal, commented on Friday about the murder of a black man by white security guards in a supermarket in Porto Alegre.
According to Iêda, the statement [by Vice President Mourão] that “there is no racism in Brazil” proves that the country is governed by “dishonest” people and enhances conditions for new crimes against the black population to be committed.
“We are witnessing a presidential farce. We have a dead black man and the Vice-president says such nonsense. We need to rely on powers that can understand Brazil. Both he and the President should step down, they don’t understand and don’t know Brazil. This statement only confirms that Brazil is in the hands of dishonest people”, she said.
On Friday, the Vice-president described the death of João Alberto Silveira Freitas, a 40-year-old black man, who was brutally beaten to death, as “regrettable”. However, he said he did not perceive racism in the crime.
“In my opinion, there is no racism in Brazil. That’s something they want to import into Brazil, it doesn’t exist here,” Mourão said.
According to Iêda, this kind of statement reinforces structural racism in Brazilian society and contributes to new cases of discrimination occurring daily in the country.
“This statement goes against everything we have been saying for many years. It is 2020 and the population is suffering because there is structural racism, this has been studied and confirmed. This attitude will only contribute to the perpetuation of racism in our society. This is not an unfortunate statement, it is what he thinks. And this must not be in the mind of someone who holds such an important position in our country. This is toying with the black population, threatened not only by racists, but also by the Vice-president’s remarks,” she criticized.
The Unified Black Movement is preparing a legal offensive with attorneys from all over Brazil to hold Carrefour supermarket chain responsible. In addition, the movement is organizing demonstrations in defense of the black population.
“Black lives matter, yes. And our reaction will be to hold these people accountable.”
Source: O Globo