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Protests, interspersed with acts of violence and clashes with security forces, broke out in major Brazilian cities, following the murder of a black man by two white security guards at a French Carrefour company, in an incident that recalls the murder. by American George Floyd in late May, which sparked widespread unrest in the United States. .
Joao Alberto Freitas, 40, was murdered late Thursday night at a Carrefour store in Porto Alegre (southern Brazil), after being brutally beaten, leading to his death.
A store employee filmed images of the abused man and the clip was broadcast on social media, sparking a wave of discontent.
The Globo News channel quoted the military police of the state of Rio Grande do Sul – whose capital is Porto Alegre – that the accident occurred after an employee of the store called security, after the man threatened to attack her.
Brazilian media said that the preliminary report of the legal application reveals that Fritas died of asphyxiation, and the footage showed one of the guards hitting the victim in the face before the other crouched on his back.
The death of the Brazilian citizen coincided with the celebration of the National Day of Awareness of the Rights of Blacks and the Revolution of the Slaves in Brazilian history, which is a holiday in various parts of the country.
Rio Grande do Sul state police chief Nadine Anfleur confirmed that the two guards had been arrested and interrogated on suspicion of premeditated murder, while the state military police chief Rodrigo Moore said that one of them he was working as a temporary military police officer.
Violent protests
About 24 hours after the video clip of the murder of Joao Freitas circulated, around a thousand protesters attacked the Carrefour store in Porto Alegre on Friday night, smashing windows and delivery cars in the store’s parking area.
Police fired tear gas canisters to disperse the protesters, and before that, the protesters marched in the city center and held up banners in Portuguese that read “Black lives matter,” the same slogan used in the demonstrations. to condemn the murder of citizens of African origin in the United States.
The protesters also held up photos with the Carrefour logo stained in blood and called for a boycott of the French company.
On the other hand, Carrefour denounced what he described as the brutal murder of the victim Joao Freitas, and announced the closure of his store in Porto Alegre and the termination of the contract with the security company to which the two guards involved in the crime belonged. , and the dismissal of the clerk in charge of the store.
In the city of São Paulo, dozens of protesters smashed the facades of the Carrefour store with stones, ripped open the entrance doors and stormed the building before dispersing, and the protesters chanted “Carrefour Murderer.”
Some 200 people demonstrated in Rio de Janeiro, chanting slogans in front of another Carrefour store.
In the capital Brasilia, dozens of angry protesters stormed another Carrefour store, raising the slogan “Black life matters” and “Don’t buy at Carrefour … you can die”, before forcing the store to close its doors.
According to the Associated Press, blacks and mixed races represent 57% of the Brazilian population of more than 212 million, but represent 74% of murder victims, according to a Brazilian non-governmental organization.
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