An incident in Minas Gerais, Brazil, has sparked outrage after a woman discovered that Argentine tourists secretly filmed her 7-year-old son on a train and sent the image with the caption: 'The boy is black but very cute. I could make him a slave. I'm thinking of having a slave—there are plenty here.'
The suspect, Eduardo Ignacio Murias, 63, an architect from Santiago del Estero province, Argentina, was arrested at the train station on charges of 'racial insult' under Brazilian law. He is the third Argentine arrested for racism in Brazil this year, as the number of Argentine tourists visiting Brazil reaches record levels.
Earlier in April, José Luis Haile, 67, was arrested for racially insulting a delivery worker at a supermarket in Rio de Janeiro. In January, Agostina Páez, 29, was arrested in Rio after being filmed making monkey gestures at a waiter. She was released but banned from leaving Brazil for two and a half months. Upon returning to Argentina, she was welcomed by far-right Senator Patricia Bullrich, a close ally of President Javier Milei. Her father was later filmed making monkey gestures at a bar to celebrate her return home.
Political scientist and Afro-Argentine activist Federico Pita said these incidents come as no surprise, as 'racism is inscribed in Argentina's own national project'. He cited Article 25 of Argentina's constitution, which states: 'The federal government will promote European immigration.'
According to the 2022 census, people of African descent make up about 1% of Argentina's population, and indigenous people account for 3%. However, activists argue these figures may be undercounted. 'An Aymara born in northern Argentina is considered Bolivian, a Mapuche in Patagonia is seen as Chilean, and an Afro-descendant in Buenos Aires is viewed as Uruguayan or Brazilian, because the only thing considered truly Argentine is white,' Pita said.
In March, Argentina was the only Latin American country to vote against a United Nations resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade a 'most serious crime against humanity.'
Racist incidents between Argentines and Brazilians are not new. In 1920, players on Brazil's national team refused to play a friendly match after being depicted as monkeys in Argentine newspapers. To this day, monkey gestures appear in most matches between the two countries. Pita stressed that these incidents should not be generalized, but they reflect a deeper Argentina still grappling with racism.
