(en) Anarkismo.net: Postcolonial Brazil: Racism And The State Of Structural Violence by Bruno Lima Rocha and Julia Klein (ca, pt),

In April to alert the country the issue of racism and structural violence of the state 
against its own people. Taking the example of Rio de Janeiro maximized, Brazil mediates 
what is rule of survival of the nation's largest African descent in the Americas. The 
state is racist and does not recognize civil and social rights of the majority. The elites 
are racist policy and reject any repair horror of slavery. Here's why there is so much 
controversy with quota policies and the non-recognition of Quilombo lands (lands free afro 
descendants, such as Palenque in Colombia or the Maroons in the Caribbean). In the extreme 
case, in urban centers, where the black mass moved after abolition, the postcolonial state 
performs the physical removal of a population placed under suspicion. The following facts 
speak for themselves.

On Tuesday 22 April, the "discovery" of Brazil celebrated the colonial legacy in its 
deadliest form. I never tire of saying that this country was built on genocide (indigenous 
peoples) and slavery. These days, the two dominations are mixed, gaining importance at 
wakes in slum areas and peripheries. The dancer Douglas Rafael Pereira da Silva (DG) of 
"Esquenta" program aired Sunday the Red Balloon (leading audience), directed by artist 
Regina Case and anthropologist devoted Hermano Vianna in its production, was killed by 
shot in the back. Suspicion falls on permanent occupation troops of the "Pavao-Pav?ozinho 
communities in the popular district of Copacabana, south zone of Rio de Janeiro.

In the same city, on July 14, 2013, the assistant bricklayer Amarildo Dias de Souza, was 
led by military police from the door of his home to the headquarters of the Pacifying 
Police Unit (UPP) in the favela of Rocinha, the largest in Brazil, also in the south of 
Rio date enshrined in the storming of the Bastille and the Rights of Man was "held" to the 
forced disappearance of a Brazilian whose civil rights of the State, in fact, recognizes.

The year 2014 had mixed with racism police violence that was characterized in the case of 
cleaning assistant, Claudia Silva Ferreira, 39. Mother of family and residents of the 
Congonhas-the community north of Rio-Claudia was hit by shots fired by officers of 
Battalion 9 and his body was dragged for 250 meters to the rear of the tactical truck that 
left the scene of the crime State. In the original Battalion team that killed Claudia, 
there are police with 60 deaths confirmed by his shots. It is the sum of trigger-happy 
with the lack of basic rights.

The popular revolt that occurs in Rio was caught by a media event in a soccer field in Spain.

Bananas (bananas) and anti-racism: the need to go beyond irony

The right wing of Barcelona and the Brazilian national team, Daniel Alves, starred in an 
episode where irony and spontaneous reaction led to a debate against racism worldwide. On 
Sunday April 27, 2014 the world saw him eating a banana thrown at him. The fruit came from 
the rostrum of the adversary club in the Spanish championship that game, Villarreal 
Valencia, playing against Catalans Barsa. Daniel ate bananas and continued playing. The 
irony used to fight prejuicial attitude, the applause of fans across the country followed.

His teammate, also a selection of Brazilian striker and the Catalan club, the former 
Santos player Neymar, launched a twitter campaign for the behavior of his friend. 
Actually, who developed the campaign, hastily was Loducca agency leading advertising 
account footballer. Then immediately mobilized the media, going anonymous million readers 
through social networks. Suddenly, the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, herself a 
former guerrilla, followed in the footsteps of advertising through its microblogging. In 
parallel, the shock and involving Globo, hurt by the murder of dancer known for DG 
(Douglas Rafael Pereira da Silva), participant of the celebrated TV show called "Esquenta" 
(praise the bastion of mestizaje apolitical), and who had spent the Sunday edition of 
April 27 to pressure the authorities in finding a conclusive investigation.

In fact, any attitude in this regard is something positive, but to advance the fight 
against structural racism, it is necessary to qualify the debate and at least try to cross 
a more political and less emotional agenda. The slogan "We are all monkeys!" will become a 
new icon of the culture industry, taking advantage of the bad timing of the Brazilian 
image abroad (with the systematic murder of Afro-Brazilians), the Ministry of Tourism 
tried to reverse the trend and hit # CopaSemRacismo, through millions of posts on social 
networks.

The result can be the same. On the one hand, making public the attitude Daniel Alves, this 
generates endless adhesions and serves as a discourse of legitimation by Brazilian society 
that sees integration as a positive factor. Moreover, this sector where most therein is 
apolitical, not involved in the territorialized struggle for basic civil rights of people 
of African descent. Speak of the remaining residents recognized Quilombos (rural, whose 
lands demarcated not reach 10% of total reserves) and unrecognized, the contemporary 
version of the favelas, slums, shanty towns, neighborhoods, towns and endless suburbs. In 
this same struggle the agenda of the quota policy and the minimum requirement for the 
Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPPIR) is more active in defending the 
claims and rights of the majority is included.

In the age of media and in the absence of a sector mass black movement in the streets, 
would be more productive icon sports more aggressive tone. Something similar to the 
function that met the boxer Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) in 1966 when he refused to serve 
in the U.S. Army and go to the Vietnam War. Ali marked a historic moment, representing the 
"champion of the people" (as they were known heavyweights in boxing) far beyond the 
nonsense and jokes that had so marked.

Welcome to the spontaneous reaction of professional athletes in general little or no 
socially accustomed position, even when the racial and class oppression occurs. In this 
sense, overcome the paradigm of "Pele off the field" (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) is a 
small forward. But then to hold an immediate commitment to the media where, suddenly, are 
present all those who hypocritically positioned against the policy of ethnic and racial 
quotas are really against the basic remedies, this really would be a great mistake.

Noting the underlying problem

While still outraged by racist insults against our players, Brazil needs to invest the 
damn legacy of colonialism, excluding the visceral racism running through both the top of 
society and is also present in the viscera of the state security apparatus.

This country needs to reconnect with yourself, looking African slavery and Indian genocide 
like the Holocaust that affected our people. Definitely not with irony and humor that 
fearsome oppressor as the heirs of the slave masters and their assistants face every hour.