Brazil to fight racism against Brazilians in Portugal

Anielle Franco, the Minister of Promotion of Racial Equality, announced on Sunday (Apr. 23) that Brazil aims to boost the network to combat racism and xenophobia towards Brazilian citizens residing in Portugal, with the assistance of the Brazilian consulate.

During her visit to Lisbon for the XIII Luso-Brazilian Summit, which resumed after a six-year hiatus, the minister expressed her intention to collaborate with Portuguese authorities in establishing a series of effective actions.

Data supporting the need for enhanced protection measures for the Brazilian community in Portugal can be found in a 2021 report from the Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CICDR), the specialized body in Portugal dedicated to combating racial discrimination. The report indicates that Brazilians are the group that experiences the most hostility.

The commission's report highlights that the nationality of foreigners (39.2%) is the most common characteristic or factor mentioned in discrimination complaints, followed by skin color (17%) and ethno-racial origin (16.9%). These findings suggest that Brazilians may face discrimination for multiple reasons.

After a meeting with Portuguese Deputy and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ana Catarina Mendes, Anielle Franco highlighted in an interview with journalists, that there are inspiring initiatives in Portugal that Brazil can learn from. One such initiative is an observatory run by researchers from the University of Lisbon, which focuses on cases of racism and discrimination. 

"It was very important to hear directly from the minister that Brazil is ahead of Portugal in terms of racial literacy, even though we know that we still need to evolve a lot," she said. The summit was also attended by Brazil's Ministers of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida, and Culture, Margareth Menezes.

"It was a highly productive meeting, where we made essential and primordial proposals. We have also listened to the demands of Brazilians living in Portugal," Franco said.

Anti-racism in sports

In addition, Minister Anielle Franco announced to journalists that her ministry plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Sports to launch a program aimed at combating racism in sports. The program's goal is to protect Brazilian athletes in Europe from discriminatory practices.