Racial slurs are equivalent to racism: ‘How do the police and the judiciary deal with this crime?

Ívina Garcia – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sanctioned on Wednesday, 11, the law that equals the crime of racial slurs to racism, the text was received with joy by the black community, which warns for the correct application.

Now, the punishment for racial insult is increased from 1 to 3 years to 2 to 5 years, besides being doubled if the crime is committed by two or more people and if it is committed in sportive or cultural events or for humorous purposes, considered collective racial insult.

Activist of the racial cause and president of the National Afro-origin Institute (Inaô), Mr. Christian Rocha reminds that it is in the police stations and in the operators of the law that the cases arrive first, and it is in these spaces that the rule should be respected in the first place.

“It is important that Brazil understands that racism is strengthened by the lack of speed in police inquiries, when it starts in the police report, and when it becomes a process, because the delay in the process gives society the feeling and a kind of guarantee that it is worth being racist, because impunity exists and it is clear”, says Mr. Rocha.

Mr. Christian explains that insult is something practiced against the individual, while racism covers the collective. “I celebrate, we have one more tool with a greater force, but the legislators and jurists call my attention, because we know that the applicability of the laws is far from the practice”, he says.

The new law was approved by the National Congress in December 2022 and inserts insult in the Racism Law (Law 7.716/1989). The new regulation also typifies the crime of collective racial insult.

For Christian, this is another mechanism created to give strength to the movement, but it needs to be applied properly. “The law may have significantly increased the penalty, but the question is how do the police and the judiciary face this crime?”, questions the activist.