Governor laments act of racism in Brasília.
Governor Agnelo Queiroz (PT) lamented the racist incident against a manicurist, who was called a "bad race" by an Australian woman living in the capital; for him, the population is aware that the GDF (Government of the Federal District) implements policies to combat racism, "so much so that the complaint was made by the people who were in the beauty salon"; "An attitude that deserves our respect and proves that the population of Brasília does not approve of racism."
Brasilia Agency - Governor Agnelo Queiroz lamented this Monday (17) the episode of racism against the manicurist at a beauty salon in Brasília, in 115 Sul. The employee was called a "bad race" by a 30-year-old Australian woman who lives in the city. According to Agnelo, Brasília does not approve of this type of attitude.
"Racism is regrettable in any situation. The Federal District government has public policies to combat discrimination, such as the anti-racism hotline. And the population is aware of this, so much so that the complaint was made by the people who were in the beauty salon. An attitude that deserves our respect and proves that the population of Brasília does not approve of racism," stated the governor.
Witnesses said the Australian woman entered the establishment to get a pedicure. She refused to be served by the Black employee because, according to her, she was "of a bad race." When questioned, she began to insult other Black employees and customers.
The owner of the establishment called the police, who made the arrest on the spot. She also allegedly insulted the officer who responded to the call.
The Australian woman was taken to the women's prison, better known as "Colméia," where she was held for a few hours before being released thanks to a writ of habeas corpus.
In a statement, CEB reported that the Australian woman is an employee of the company and is already the subject of more than one investigation for "racist attitudes," and that the cases will be forwarded to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The organization also emphasized that it "regrets and condemns any racist or discriminatory behavior on the part of its employees, whether or not they are in their work environment."
According to the Secretariat for Racial Equality (Sepir), the anti-racism hotline, created in March 2013, has already received more than 8 calls, of which 116, after investigation, became formal complaints. Another 10 notifications registered in person at Sepir support the statistics of 126 cases, which equates to an average of 11 per month.