Argentine leader under fire over racism
Print Edition
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez triggered a Twitter storm and a regional race debate on Wednesday with comments to visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that sought to play up the South American country鈥檚 ties with Europe.
鈥淭he Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships. And they were ships that came from Europe,鈥 Fernandez said, referring to the country鈥檚 many European migrants.
He later apologized for the comments and said his country鈥檚 diversity was something to be proud of.
Fernandez seems to have taken the phrase from a song by local musician Lito Nebbia, of whom the president has declared himself an admirer on more than one occasion.
The comments sparked a viral response on social media, with many criticizing Fernandez for racial insensitivity.
鈥淚 did not mean to offend anyone, in any case, whoever has felt offended or invisible, I give my apologies,鈥 Fernandez said on Twitter.
Brazilian media ran Fernandez鈥檚 statements on Wednesday and many on social media joked that President Jair Bolsonaro would enjoy getting back at the Argentine leader.
Bolsonaro obliged by tweeting a photograph of himself wearing a native head-dress, smiling among a group of indigenous people.
The only text in the tweet was the word 鈥淛UNGLE鈥 in capital letters, flanked by a Brazilian flag emoji.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman and the Brazilian president鈥檚 son, slammed the comments as 鈥渞acist鈥 and shot a retort back at Argentina over its troubled economy, in recession since 2018. 鈥淚 say the ship that is sinking is that of Argentina,鈥 he posted on Twitter.
Netizens on YouTube posted replies under a video of the speech, expressing anger.
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