Black movement ignores Lula’s speech about “gratitude for slavery”

More than 24 hours after another controversial statement by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in which he thanked Africa “for everything that was produced during 350 years of slavery”, the main self-declared anti-racist entities – the majority supporting the PT’s candidacy – solemnly ignored the president’s speech.

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“I want to recover the relationship with the African continent because we Brazilians are formed by the African people. Our culture, color and size are the result of miscegenation between Indians, blacks and Europeans. We are profoundly grateful to the African continent for everything that was produced during 350 years of slavery in our country”, said Lula alongside the president of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, this Wednesday afternoon (19).

As shown by People’s Gazettethe president’s speech is morally reprehensible because he treats slavery as something that would be positive for Brazil, in a utilitarian vision that does not take into account the suffering and rights of the hundreds of thousands of people who were enslaved.

In all, the report questioned 14 entities (see list below) that call themselves defenders of the black cause and human rights. Some of them openly campaigned for the PT in last year’s presidential elections, and some of them have, among their members, members of the so-called “Conselhão do Lula”.

One of them is Doulas Belchior – co-founder of the NGO Uneafro and affiliated with the Workers’ Party (PT). The activist is also co-founder of the NGO Coalizão Negra Por Direitos and organizer of Educafro. Also part of the “Conselhão” are the director of the Collective of Black Entities (Conen), João Nogueira; the legal adviser of the National Coordination of Quilombos Articulation (Conaq), Vercilene Dias; and the founder of the Geledés Institute, Sueli Carneiro.

Several of these organizations, which usually manifest themselves with notes of repudiation of any conduct that could be interpreted as minimally racist or even unhappy with regard to racial prejudice, did not even try to explain another point of view on Lula’s statement.

A small number of entities responded to the report’s contact stating that they would not comment on the case. One of them is the NGO Criola which, even opting for silence in the face of a speech by a President of the Republic, released this morning a note of repudiation pointing out racism on the part of the Federal District Court of Justice (TJ-DF) for having prevented the entry of a lawyer in candomblé attire in a trial session.

See below the list of entities typically defending anti-racism that ignored Lula’s speech about the slavery of Africans:

• Odara Institute
• National Coordination of Articulation of Rural Black Quilombola Communities (Conaq)
• Educafro
• Black Coalition for Rights
• Creole NGO
• Permanent Forum for Racial Equality (Fopir)
• Instituto Geledés
• Marielle Franco Institute
• Holy Days Center for Human Rights
• uneafro
• Amma Psyche
• Baobá – Fund for Racial Equity
• Papo Reto Collective
• Collective of Black Entities (Conen)

Anti-racist Parliamentary Front and ministers of human rights and racial equality also remain silent

The pattern of ignoring the episode continued among parliamentarians linked to anti-racism and even within the government itself. A People’s Gazette
asked the advisory of the coordinators of the Frente Parlamentar Mista Antiracismo about a possible position in relation to the case. The advice of the coordinator of the bench in the Senate, Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS), reported that the parliamentarian was in his state fulfilling agendas and that, therefore, there were communication difficulties. The coordinator of the bench in the Chamber, Deputy Dandara (PT-MG), did not return the contact.

So did the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, and the Minister of Human Rights, Silvio Almeida. The holder of the human rights portfolio was one of those responsible for popularizing, in Brazil, the thesis that there would be a “structural racism” in the country – a concept in which there would be an organization within society that would privilege groups of a certain ethnicity or color to the detriment of another, perceived as inferior. Target of several criticisms, the thesis is questioned mainly for indirectly employing the racist label to people who have never expressed any statement or action in this regard.

This is not the first time that Silvio Almeida has been silent in the face of Lula’s actions considered disastrous in terms of human rights even by the international press. At the end of May, the minister chose not to speak after Lula’s warm welcome to the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, whose government is marked by various violations of democracy, human rights and individual freedoms.

In the same week, Almeida also did not comment on the aggression against a reporter by one of Maduro’s security guards and by members of the Federal Government’s Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI). The ministry’s official communication also completely ignored the matter.

“What if it was Bolsonaro?”, question opposition parliamentarians

A number of opposition deputies questioned the “blackout” of political entities and actors normally engaged in anti-racist militancy. Opposition parliamentarians also pointed to political expediency in the criticisms made by these groups. “Lula thanked Africa for everything produced during 350 years of slavery. Where are those who keep shouting ‘fire the racists’?”, asked federal deputy Mario Frias (PL-SP).

Deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) also addressed the issue on social media: “What a deafening silence from the left, the black movement and mimizentos about Lula thanking Africa for ‘everything that was produced in 350 years of slavery’, huh? Just think if this comes out of Bolsonaro’s mouth… think about it”, tweeted the Minas Gerais parliamentarian.

Other deputies, as well as Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) and Gilberto Silva (PL-PB) followed the same line, questioning an apparent double standard within the black movement and suggesting that there would be quite contrasting reactions if former president Jair Bolsonaro was the author of the speech.

Exception in the black movement, Benedita da Silva comes out in defense of Lula

Federal deputy Benedita da Silva (PT-RJ) was one of the few public figures to come out in defense of the president. On Wednesday night, she told Folha de S. Paulo that the correct interpretation of Lula’s speech would be to understand that “Brazil lived with its back to Africa and that we owe a huge debt to Africa, and Africa cannot be just a cultural partner, or tourism, or safari”.

“It has the potential to have a solid commercial relationship. This is what I have heard the president say, that he will invest in technology, with the exchange of knowledge, and it has great potential as we see a lot of hunger, a lot of misery”, he declared.