Racism persists in consumer relations – 04/11/2023 – Maria Inês Dolci

In the space of time between the opening and the end of the most watched newspaper on Brazilian television, we watched three pieces of news referring to racism: a black teacher from Curitiba, who felt excessively accompanied by a supermarket security guard; the black singer who was not served at the preferential checkout of a supermarket in Alphaville (SP) and witnessed the service of a white customer; the black delivery men were attacked by a resident of an upscale neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.

These three cases evidently made the news due to special circumstances.

The teacher from Curitiba, Isabel Oliveira, stripped down to her underwear and wrote on her body: “Am I a threat?”

The singer, Vinícius de Paula, is the husband of two-time Olympic volleyball champion Fabiana Claudino.

And the attacks, in Rio de Janeiro, by Sandra Mathias Correia de Sá on delivery men Max Angelo dos Santos and Viviane Maria de Souza were recorded on video.

But what about cases of suspicious looks, people followed through the halls and those subjected to other forms of intimidation and disrespect who do not react because they have experienced acts like this several times? In two of these regrettable and vexing situations, citizens went shopping. In the other, couriers were working when they were attacked by the enraged resident.

At least one positive change has already occurred in relation to similar situations: President Lula sympathized with the teacher who felt intimidated by the security guard.

And there are the Ministries of Racial Equality, Women, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights, which can act to raise society’s awareness so that cases like this do not happen again.

At the end of 2020, I wrote the text “What we expect from Carrefour and commerce in general”, in reference to the death of customer João Alberto Freitas in a store of this supermarket chain in Porto Alegre, beaten by security guards.

From what has happened now, we realize that we are still far from preventing crimes like these three. But the legal framework for that already exists.

In January, President Lula’s sanction of Law 14,532/2023 was published in the Official Gazette, which typifies racial injury as a crime of racism, with the penalty increased from one to three years to two to five years of imprisonment.

We expect everyone involved to be severely punished. And that, in addition, the resident of São Conrado be expelled from the building where she lives. Until that happens, no delivery should be made to that building.

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