Black collectives and social movements in Rio de Janeiro held this Thursday (20) an act of resistance against racism in the country. More than 80 organizations demanded the arrest of the former beach volleyball player, Sandra Mathias Correia de Sá, 53 years old, who attacked app delivery people, Max Ângelo and Viviane Maria, in the neighborhood of São Conrado, in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, where the two worked. In a manifesto, organizers reaffirmed the “legacy of resistance, struggle, production of knowledge and life”. “Historically, we continue to face racism, which structures society and produces inequalities that mainly affect our existence. During the almost four hundred years of enslavement and since the beginning of the Republic, we have been the target of violations of rights, racism, racial discrimination, violence and genocide”. In another section, the document points out that history demands from the Brazilian black population and from the entire African diaspora articulated actions to confront racism, genocide and the inequalities, injustices and violence derived from this reality. “This black struggle unit gathers in defense of life, good living and hard-won rights in the resistance and struggle of poor black people and the working class, irrevocable and non-negotiable, we will continue to honor our ancestors, unifying the entire Afro population and other members of the working class, for a future free of racism”. Assaults On April 9, Sandra violently attacked delivery workers in São Conrado, close to where she lives. The recorded images show the former athlete throwing punches at Max and strong pulls on his shirt. In the strongest scene, the woman whipped the worker using her dog’s leash. Then he dodges and tries to walk away. Afterwards, Sandra returned and slapped and punched the delivery woman Viviane Maria Souza. The former athlete presents herself on social media as a nutritionist and owner of a beach volleyball school in Leblon. In her statement to the police last Monday (17), Sandra said she had suffered gender prejudice and denied racism. Max denied the woman’s version. The case was registered as bodily injury and simple injury. According to the delegate responsible for the investigation, there are still not enough elements for the case to be characterized as a racial insult. The police are investigating whether there was also the crime of racial injury, which has legal treatment of racism and a sentence of two to five years. The delegate will still hear three other testimonies.
Agência Brasil
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