Lula criticizes Carrefour after new accusation of racism: “We will not admit it”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) criticized this Monday (10) Carrefour after teacher Isabel Oliveira said she was a victim of racism in one of the group’s units in Curitiba. Lula pointed out that the network’s management must be warned that the government “will not tolerate racism.”

“Carrefour committed yet another crime of racism. One more crime. A Carrefour inspector accompanied a black girl, who was going to buy, thinking she was going to steal, she had to stay only in her panties and bra to prove that she wasn’t going to steal. It is the second time that Carrefour has done this type of thing”, said the representative during the ministerial meeting to celebrate the 100 days of government.

“So, we have to tell Carrefour’s management, if they want to do this in their country of origin, let them do it, but in this country we will not admit racism”, he added. Carrefour’s headquarters are in France. Last week, teacher Isabel Oliveira said she was chased by security guards at Atacadão, a supermarket that belongs to the Carrefour group. In protest, the teacher walked around the unit in only her underwear.

In a note, Atacadão stated that it “did not identify evidence of an improper approach”. “Since the customer’s first manifestations at the location, the store’s supervision and management made themselves available to listen to her and offer the proper welcome. We regret that the client felt the way reported, which, of course, goes completely against our goals. The company has a zero tolerance policy against any type of discriminatory behavior or inappropriate approach”, reads an excerpt from the statement.

The unit also said that it conducts training with employees and has a reporting channel. “We also emphasize that our prevention model focuses on welcoming customers, with inclusion and respect guidelines that are also passed on to our employees through intense and frequent training”, said the supermarket.

In November 2020, a black man was beaten and killed by two white security guards at a Carrefour unit in Porto Alegre (RS). The group was convicted of collective moral damages for the death of João Alberto Silveira de Freitas. The network was sentenced to pay BRL 68 million in more than 800 scholarships for black people in higher education institutions.