This Wednesday (9), we asked Folha readers to say how they would respond to Argentine President Alberto Fernández’s statement during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that morning in Buenos Aires.
Believing to quote the Mexican writer Octavio Paz (1914-1998), Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1990, Fernández declared that “the Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians from the jungle” and the Argentines, in boats from Europe . It is, however, an excerpt from a song by composer Litto Nebbia.
The speech, which reveals a deep cultural trait that downplays if not denies the mixed race roots of Argentina’s population, drew an immediate reaction on social media and criticism from members of Congress like Kátia Abreu, who called it “Bolsonaro porteño” .
Reader Claudio Nastri, from Sorocaba (SP), followed the senator’s line and said that if he had been by Fernández’s side at the time, he would have asked him if he “had learned of this type of comment from our president “.
Discover the best hypothetical answers sent by our readers, selected by a committee of Folha journalists.
Did you hear that kind of comment from our president?
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No origin should be overlooked. All people deserve respect. All are worthy.
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We have known for a long time that we are the true owners of the territories of South America. Yes indeed, the indigenous peoples have been here for over 20,000 years, and the outsiders, who have only been here about 600 years, are still here. trying to get us invaded. In view of your astute observation, we ask you to recognize that this territory belongs to us, the peoples of America, to take back their boats and return to Europe. Please return the looted gold and silver before you leave.
Silvia Muiramomi, an indigenous people of the interior of São Paulo, a people of Aby Ayala
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Mr. Fernández, given the evolutionary trait of humanity, we are all jungle, migratory and coming from long walks around the world. There is no such thing as a superior race or a secondary race, what exists is ingrained prejudice. There are those who shout “Jungle! with another meaning. Ignorance is the flagship of the oppressor.
Raimundo Vieira, 32, electrical engineer, Araruama (RJ)
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Dear President Fernández, yes, we Brazilians are mainly from the original inhabitants of our country who, in turn, inhabited the jungle. Our land was invaded, attacked and later exploited by the Portuguese.
Even today, we struggle to accept and accept our Aboriginal origins, and to be proud of it. We also do little, in general, to protect and welcome the first and principal owners of our lands, as well as to grant them, protect and preserve the land that is their right. Being so proud of your European origins … a question of values, Mr President!
So proud to exalt those who invaded us, exploited, raped, killed, enslaved, colonized and catechized, massacring and denying our ancestry, our roots, our beliefs from our indigenous origins!
Well! As we continue to deny and even be ashamed of our indigenous and savage ancestry, we continue to cultivate low self-esteem, feelings and postures of inferiority, as countries, peoples and individuals.
We continue to be eternal settlers who admire – and are proud of – our barbarian settlers. Yes, today we are a mixture of natives, Portuguese and other peoples and ethnicities who came here, voluntarily or by force, enslaved.
And also the peoples, families and individuals who have migrated here and continue to migrate!
May we honor each day that makes up our countries and territories, without prejudice, without exclusions, and yes, with love, unity and tolerance. And host.
Sílvia Rocha, 62, writer and poet, Cotia (SP)