A new episode starring an Argentinian citizen in Brazil generated international repercussions after the arrest of a man from 67 years old accused of racial insult in Copacabana, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The incident occurred on Monday morning at a branch of the World Channel, located on Siqueira Campos Street, and involved Samara Rodrigues de Lima, a 23-year-old Brazilian girl, and as a defendant the Argentinian José Luis Haile, who was arrested and charged after the incident. The scene was witnessed by another Argentinian, the bricklayer Juan Esteban García, who decided to intervene and report the situation to the authorities, which
led to rapid police action.The conflict began when Samara, who works as an application deliverer, was waiting in line at the supermarket with four orders to be processed. According to his story, he decided to stand in front of a box that was still closed with the expectation of expediting the purchase. Behind her was Haile, who began to express his discomfort at the delay and the supposed slowness in attention, which quickly escalated into an argument. According to the complaint cited by the media and the testimony given to O Globo, the young woman tried to avoid the conflict. However, when she answered that the line was closed and asked not to be sent to shut up, the man insulted her twice with the expression “black slut
”.
The episode lasted approximately 15 minutes, from the moment the young woman arrived at the place until she managed to complete her purchase, in the midst of a climate of increasing tension and without the intervention of the establishment's staff. “I started to get angry with him and called him a coward because he spoke in a low voice during the racist insult. At the time, I was very nervous and angry. I didn't expect this to happen and expected a little more support from the supermarket staff, but the security guards didn't do anything. I went back to work this Wednesday. I couldn't work yesterday. I feel tired, still a little frustrated and afraid that something like this could happen again,” Samara said
