Mobilizations in Porto Alegre after the death of a …

Have been executed protests in Porto Alegre after the death of a black man who was brutally beaten by the private security of a supermarket. In images taken by a witness it looks like José Alberto Silveira Freitas, 40, is attacked by an agent while another keeps him immobilized. After being beaten, the man still remains on the ground. Emergency services tried to revive him, but Silveira Freitas died at the scene. According to the investigation, the man once had an altercation with an employee of a supermarket. Brazil commemorated the Black Awareness Day marches were therefore organized to denounce the structural violence against blacks in the country.

The two men involved in the death of Silvera Freitas have been arrested. One of them also works in the military police and in his free time he worked overtime at the Carrefour located north of Porto Alegre. According to forensic experts the man died of a heart attack or suffocation. “The two security guards stayed on top of him, preventing him from breathing», Indicated Roberta Bertoldo of the second police station for homicides and the protection of people on the site Newspaper. The Brazilian affiliate of the French group lamented the “brutal death”. He also assured in a statement that he would take appropriate steps to hold those involved in the case accountable. “Carrefour will break contract with the company responsible for the security guards who carried out the attack. The worker who was in charge of the supermarket at the time of the incident will be fired, “the multinational said. The military police have indicated that they will analyze with all the rigors of the law the behavior of the agent who was outside. his working hours.

The incidents started when a supermarket cashier called security after being pulled over along with Silveira Freitas, local media reported. Officers took the man away from the premises where they began to beat him. The father of the victim João Batista Rodrigues Freitas assured that it was an act of racial violence. “Just look at the strength of the aggression. The first thing I asked was: was he stealing? Otherwise, why be brutally beaten by the security guards?The 65-year-old said. Silveira Freitas was a fan of the San José club in the Brazilian football third division. His friends said Carrefour’s security had also been cruel to fans of that club. “Usually when we went to the market the security guard would look at us with a frown, discriminate against us.”Said Carlos Eduardo Borges Carneiro.

The event rocked the commemoration of Black Awareness Day, celebrated on a public holiday in several Brazilian cities, including Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Members of social organizations denounced the discrimination suffered by blacks in the country. “We are talking about another brutal episode of racism and again at Carrefour. From November 20 to November 20 and every day, the racist structure of this country brings us brutality as a rule!“said activist Raul Santiago, member of the Brecha agency. The candidate for the office of governor of the city for the Communist Party Manuela D’Avila participated in the concentration that was made in front of the market. “We have already called for an investigation with our parliamentarians and the recently elected anti-racist caucus. But the pictures say it allDeclared D’Avila who will contest the ballot on November 29 against Sebastiao Melo, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement.

In Brazil, the last country in America to abolish slavery in 1888, more than half of the 212 million inhabitants are black or mixed race. Afro-descendants suffer from high rates of police and street violence, poverty and social marginalization. According to the Atlas of Violence published last August, the number of murders of blacks increased by 11.5% between 2008 and 2018. While among non-blacks, it decreased by 12.9%.