Minister: Protest against Cubans was racist

Agency Brazil
Luciano Nascimento - The Minister of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality, Luiza Bairros, stated this Monday (2) that the reaction against the Cuban doctors who arrived in Brazil last week, to participate in the Mais Médicos Program, shows that racism still exists and that the place that black people occupy in society is still being questioned.

"In Brazil, it's impossible for white people to refer to Black people as slaves without that being considered racism. Even more so when the social role of Black people is questioned, suggesting they shouldn't occupy certain social positions," said the minister during a debate on minority rights on the TV Brasil program Brasilianas.org.

According to Luiza Bairros, Brazilian society still resists measures that seek to combat inequalities. Therefore, she said, it is necessary to work to change this cultural characteristic. "Manifestations of racism are rampant, in a way we haven't seen for many years. At the same time, the challenge of dealing with these manifestations requires a change of mentality, a process of re-education so that the inclusion of certain segments is seen as a benefit for the whole society," added the minister.

The program also addressed the rights of women, people with disabilities, and homosexuals. Nalu Faria, a member of the World March of Women, highlighted that much still needs to be done to ensure women's rights. She exemplified this with the right to abortion, the low representation of women in Parliament and in positions of power, and the problem of the double burden of work. "Most women are still responsible for domestic work, which means that society doesn't see this as a problem." For her, this is reflected even in the low representation in Parliament, where projects like the Statute of the Unborn Child are debated, "which curtail a basic right: the right to one's own body."

Former National Secretary for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Izabel Maior, reminded the audience during the debate that guaranteeing rights also involves education. Izabel advocated for an inclusive education model and criticized the invisibility experienced by minorities in social spaces such as schools. "A few years ago, the State did not get involved in the issue of inclusive education, and the segregating education model, in which people with disabilities were kept in separate establishments, did not lead to true inclusion. Inclusive education should be a basic principle for changing society," she stated.

For Gunter Zibel, an activist in a movement defending gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites, and transgender people, political parties need to embrace the debate on inclusion more. Zibel believes that more and more politicians will emerge who will champion the causes of human rights movements. "It is the right of all people to live in an inclusive society, in a respectful society."