Afro Argentine - Racism in Argentina Related To Skin Tone

Racism in Argentina Related To Skin Tone

In Argentina, as in other countries of America, racism-related skin tone or the people of African origin dates back to the days of colonial rule. In the caste system imposed by Spain, the descendants of people from black Africa occupied a place still lower than the descendants of persons belonging to aboriginal peoples.

The racist colonial went some way to the Argentine culture, as shown by some racist comments of the president Domingo F. Sarmiento. During the mid-19th century, were common to the death duels between gauchos and mestizos afroargentinos. In Argentine literature, these disputes are represented with a racist tinge in a famous passage from the book by José Hernández, Martín Fierro (The way), published in 1870, in which the main character is a bat with a gaucho black mourning after insulting his girlfriend and insult to the following verse:

Several years later, in 1878 Hernandez publishes the second part of his famous book, which holds a famous Fierro payada in that debate philosophical topics (such as life, creation, existence, etc.). With another who is black gaucho be the son of former literate and unique character of the famous book. Showing the evolution of the character and probably of Argentine society in the process of receiving millions of European immigrants, this time Martín Fierro avoids the duel when it seemed inevitable.

The invisibility of deliberate Afro Argentinians and culture, is another striking manifestation of racism in Argentina, related to the tone of the skin or African origins.

In 2006 the president of the National Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) recognized the invisibility of Afro Argentine with the following words:

A special type of discrimination has been widespread since the mid-20th century, using derogatory terms such as "black head", "black", "bold", "black" and that are related primarily to workers in lower classes. In many cases, have been "racialised social relations," and simply uses the term "black", to name a derogatory to the worker, unrelated to the color of their skin. In labor relations is commonly used among people who hold positions of importance in companies in personnel management, workers refer to as "blacks". Also in the political life it is customary to refer to supporters of Peronism as "black".

In this particular manifestation of racism in Argentina, has been unified under the term "black" or "black", discrimination against persons belonging to the indigenous peoples, as well as that of Latin American migrants and their descendants, and directed against Afro Argentinians .

One manifestation of this racism is present in the songs employed by the swollen football, where discrimination on ethnicity or nationality is conspicuous; in one particularly famous example, was "accused" by the fans of Boca Juniors to be "dirty blacks from Bolivia and Paraguay".

On the other hand, "black" it is also used as a friendly term. Not all Argentinean people say the term to insult, most people do it on a daily basis as a friend to friend term, and it is accepted by society in most cases.