Victim of screams of racist content in a match in 2014 – and in many others –, Aranha, 41, observed a change in behavior in fans since then. According to the former goalkeeper, however, there is a lot to evolve, and a true transformation will only occur when there are tougher punishments for offenders.
This Monday (21st) is the International Day against Racial Discrimination. In Brazil, racism is a non-bailable and imprescriptible crime. Law No. 7,716, of 1989, establishes a penalty ranging from one to five years in prison, in addition to a fine. Another crime, provided for in article 140 of the Penal Code, is racial slur, with a penalty of imprisonment from one to three years and a fine.
Even with the punishments established in the legislation, the clash with racial discrimination in the country is constant. This is what the trajectory of Aranha, Mario Lucio Duarte Costa, shows, who defended clubs such as Santos, Palmeiras, Atlético-MG and Ponte Preta.
In the case that marked his career, on August 28, 2014, when he was playing for Santos, he was the victim of screams and racist gestures by Grêmio fans and asked the referee to stop the game, valid for the Copa do Brasil. The case was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and, in the sporting sphere, the Rio Grande do Sul team was eliminated from the tournament.
Since then, the athlete has been invited to participate in sports programs more frequently, but instead of football, racism has dominated the agenda. He has become the target of criticism and claims to have been harmed professionally by his activism.
“I was judged by other players. They said I was using the situation to promote myself. In general, I came to be seen not as a player, but as someone who was playing a victim, a mimizento. All this because I was talking about a issue that bothered me”, he says.
Since then, Aranha not only talks but also started writing about racism. He published a book, “Brasil Tumbeiro”, in July 2021, and is preparing a second for this year, whose central character will be José do Patrocínio, the son of a priest and an enslaved woman — a pharmacist, writer and journalist, who was one of the founders. of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and became one of the most active names in the abolitionist movement
Aranha says that, for his research, he relies on literature recommendations from friends engaged in the black movement, in addition to searching channels on the subject.
The so-called tumbeiros, ships that transported the enslaved and in which many died, victims of diseases and mistreatment, give the name to the first book. The work addresses the causes of slavery, the political and economic interests to maintain it and the prejudice rooted in society to the present day, something also reflected in football stadiums.
Aimed mainly at children and teenagers, the book features characters such as the sailor João Cândido Felisberto, who in 1910 led the Revolta da Chibata and was persecuted until the end of his life, and the writer Machado de Assis, often not recognized as a black person. .
Inside the stadiums, after the episode in Porto Alegre, reports of racism continue to occur. But Aranha sees a considerable change in the behavior of fans, since today punishments are being applied. “The stadium was almost a lawless territory. In the name of love for the team, everything was justifiable, like cursing or chanting racists.”
For Aranha, cultural change will take place with greater robustness through more severe punishments. “Racism must stop being something common. The person who decides to commit an insult or racist act must be aware that he will respond legally and that racism is a crime, not just staying six months without going to the stadium and that’s okay. Today it’s possible with a cell phone to record some situation and have evidence. You have to prove all the time that it’s racism”, he says.
“Brazilians didn’t talk about racism, there was no debate. Today, there is progress in this sense of discussing, wanting to solve it, to improve. People don’t accept it anymore, they show their dissatisfaction. example, as if it were normal.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
BRAZIL TUMBEIRO
Author: Mario Spider
Illustrator: Eduardo Vetillo
Price: BRL 34.90 (120 pages)
Publisher: Mustard
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a vast amount of experience in covering health news. I am also an author at News Bulletin 247. I am highly experienced and knowledgeable in this field. I am a hard worker and always deliver quality work. I am a reliable source of information and always provide accurate information.
