Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the Consulate of the Spain, in the south zone of São Paulo, this Tuesday afternoon (23). The event was organized to show solidarity with the striker. vinicius Juniorafter series of racist attacks that the player has been suffering.
With chants of “racist LaLiga” and demands for actions by the Spanish government, the protest featured banners, musical instruments, speakers and flags.
A Military police he even asked the demonstrators to remove the banners from the walls of the consulate, but gave up in the face of complaints from the participants. According to the police, the request for removal came from members of the Spanish Consulate.
In addition to the black movement, the act also had the participation of trade unions, political parties and parliamentarians.
Among the interventions, protesters sang and played samba. In several speeches, the organizers stated that the music at the door of the building was meant to symbolize the aversions that exist in the European country to Brazilian dances.
“We will be present at the friendly Brazilian Team in Spain, since they didn’t want to cancel”, said André Alexandre, president of Unegro of São Paulo.
According to him, the movement is still getting organized and does not know how many members will attend the match.
A CBF keeps planning to play a friendly, in June, in Spain. The opponent is not yet confirmed.
“We Brazilians bring joy [em referência às danças do jogador após os seus gols]. We have a history of so many famous black people who made football history in Spain. Spanish football is what it is today thanks to black Brazilians,” says Alexandre.
He cited players like Romário, Ronaldo Fenômeno, Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Neymar, as examples.
Other protesters spoke of the history of the president of La Liga, Javier Tebaswhich has links to a far-right party.
They also recalled that cases of racism frequently occur in Brazil, both in football and outside of it. “It’s not just about football”, was one of the phrases seen on several posters. “Don’t close your eyes to the racism that occurs here,” said another.
“We came to this house, which is part of the Spanish State, to hold Spain responsible for what happens. He suffered racist insults, violence, injustice on the field”, says São Paulo councilor Elaine Mineiro (PSOL-SP).
“It’s absurd to think that, at the end of the game, nothing had happened,” he says.
For her, there is an obvious demonstration of the connivance of the Spanish State. “And LaLiga itself was in a position to prevent this from continuing to happen.”
“We only came to prove that the Spanish government is racist, because it accepts racism. Just as the Brazilian government also accepts racism”, said Evaldo, from the black movement in Salvador.
He said he was very indignant with the situation of the Brazilian black population, and asked that his last name not be included in the report. The demonstrator criticized the press for, according to him, only paying attention to cases of high-profile racism. He claims that combating the attack on Vinícius Junior is important, but he is not the only one, and that attacks of this type do not only occur in Spain.
“Are we going to continue dying because all Brazilian governments, regardless of whether they are left or right, have not played their role, which is to repair my population, which dies. Is everyone going to stand by and watch us die?”
Psychologist Andreia Dias claims that she is not officially part of any of the protest organizing movements, but that she attends meetings and tries to participate in the demonstrations. According to her, mobilization is necessary in view of the strength of racism.
She echoed the other people who repeated throughout the demonstration the importance of demanding measures also related to Brazilian football. Andreia recalled cases like that of goalkeeper Aranha, who was attacked by some of the Grêmio fans, or defender Antônio Carlos, who made a racist gesture when he was playing for Juventude.
“That’s all there is to it. The press in Spain puts it into perspective, but ours also did that many times. Just look at the round tables made by white men. That explains a lot”, he says. “People have no idea the impact on mental health that this causes. It’s just Vini, everyone who had to watch those scenes and felt hurt and scared.”
When contacted, LaLiga said it would not comment on the protest. Throughout this Tuesday, however, the entity released a note in which it claims to seek more powers to act against racism.
“Faced with this serious situation, in the next few days, LaLiga will formally request that the law be amended (…) against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport”, says an excerpt from the text published by the entity that organizes the Spanish Championship.
