Brazil’s leader blames white people for crisis

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In summary, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva blames the global economic crisis on "white people with blue eyes." This statement is likely meant for domestic consumption and not to the outside world. It raises flags about his intentions and the public attitude in Brazil if they support a leader who would make such comments.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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Brazil’s leader blames white people for crisis
By Jonathan Wheatley in São Paulo and agencies

Published: March 27 2009 00:27 | Last updated: March 27 2009 00:27

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae4957e8-1a5f-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html

Apparently he is vying for greater power in the U.N., but I don't see what he hopes to accomplish by making such a statement. Perhaps it helps him politically at home, which itself would be worrisome.
 
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  • #2
What do you think should be done to this?
 
  • #3
misgfool said:
What do you think should be done to this?

Technically, that depends on the background information that I don't have. I would expect that other leaders will denounce his comments.

I don't know that anything should be done. But it does raise a flag wrt his intentions. Also, one has to wonder about the public attitude in Brazil if they support a leader who would make such comments.
 
  • #4
Ivan Seeking said:
Technically, that depends on the background information that I don't have. I would expect that other leaders will denounce his comments.

I don't know that anything should be done. But it does raise a flag wrt his intentions.

Indeed, it is hard to tell. These kinds of comments are typically meant for domestic consumption and not to the outside world. Illiterate, poor and unhappy people often take the bait.
 
  • #5
Ivan Seeking said:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae4957e8-1a5f-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html

Apparently he is vying for greater power in the U.N., but I don't see what he hopes to accomplish by making such a statement. Perhaps it helps him politically at home, which itself would be worrisome.

I don't make too much of it. Lula looks to be speaking in short hand in terms Brazilians can relate to. I don't take it as much of anything that needs denouncing internationally. I think the Financial Times is not being wholly constructive in developing a story that plays much differently abroad than within Brazil.

The fact of the matter is that Brazil has made tremendous strides in their economy and are no longer a beggar nation at the World Bank. And Brazil has as well developed a great deal of its own renewable energies internally, and to Lula's credit it is overall not experiencing the kind of global downturn that rages elsewhere.
 
  • #6
If you want to unite people behind your cause, give them someone to hate and blame. It worked for Lenin, Hitler,Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, Osama, that kook in Venezuela, in our own country the KKK, the liberal left, the conservative right, you name it, the tactic works. Oh yeah it worked pretty good for our founding fathers too. In Luiz's case it is an easy way to grab world attention and also garner support from your countrymen. Fortunately for me I am still on the good guy list because although I am white, I have brown eyes. :rofl:
 
  • #7
So you see this as being akin to Palin, hate radio, Fox Noise et. al., calling Obama a terrorist [or accusing him of palling around with terrorists]?
 
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  • #8
Woody101 said:
If you want to unite people behind your cause, give them someone to hate and blame. It worked for Lenin, Hitler,Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, Osama, that kook in Venezuela, in our own country the KKK, the liberal left, the conservative right, you name it, the tactic works. Oh yeah it worked pretty good for our founding fathers too. In Luiz's case it is an easy way to grab world attention and also garner support from your countrymen. Fortunately for me I am still on the good guy list because although I am white, I have brown eyes. :rofl:

Huh what are you talking about? What cause?
 
  • #9
Werg 22, It is obvious that Luiz is looking to bolster his stature at home and among other third world countries by giving his followers and supporters someone to hate. It is a tried and true tactic.

Ivan I said the tactic works no matter who uses it. However, little if any good usually comes from it, but you are obviously so biased that you think it applies only to one segment of the population.
 
  • #10


Ivan Seeking said:
So you see this as being akin to Palin, hate radio, Fox Noise et. al., calling Obama a terrorist [or accusing him of palling around with terrorists]?

Probably more like making all Muslims out to be followers of a violent religion of terrorists.
 
  • #11
Can't be so. I've never heard of any blue eyed, blond haired people of significance. They seem an ineffectual as Brazilians.
 
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  • #12
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes”
Makes a change from blaming the Jews I suppose

Meanwhile Iceland is blaming it's men (presumably white with blue eyes) and a women leader will bring a new era of peace, cooperation and understanding without the testorsterone <cough>thatcher</cough>
 
  • #13
Wait, wait. This makes perfectly good sense, in the political barn yard. Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of Iberian decent, presides over a country with a 45% black population. He's threatened by Obama. With this easy reassignment of blame, he may soon be be in a position to feel himself Brazil's first black president, a la Clinton.
 
  • #14
Ivan Seeking said:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae4957e8-1a5f-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html


Apparently he is vying for greater power in the U.N., but I don't see what he hopes to accomplish by making such a statement. Perhaps it helps him politically at home, which itself would be worrisome.

I wouldn't take that so serious at all. It's more like blaming the bankers and the
Wall street culture in the industrialized West, without having to refer to the other
side as "the developing nations" which is embarrassing.

Well, the industrialized state of Sao Paolo alone is around the 12th or 13th economy
of the world, so a a bit of pride is justified.

This hasn't anything to do with racism. I've been many times in Brazil, speak
Portuguese and know the culture, don't take it serious.


Regards, Hans.
 
  • #15
Hans de Vries said:
I wouldn't take that so serious at all. It's more like blaming the bankers and the
Wall street culture in the industrialized West, without having to refer to the other
side as "the developing nations" which is embarrassing.

Well, the industrialized state of Sao Paolo alone is around the 12th or 13th economy
of the world, so a a bit of pride is justified.

This hasn't anything to do with racism. I've been many times in Brazil, speak
Portuguese and know the culture, don't take it serious.


Regards, Hans.

So by saying "white with blue eyes" he is saying "developed nations"? How does that equate? Surely Brazilians don't think that all Americans and Europeans have blue eyes. Is this a popular stereotype?
 
  • #16
Woody101 said:
If you want to unite people behind your cause, give them someone to hate and blame. It worked for Lenin, Hitler,Chairman Mao, Pol Pot, Osama, that kook in Venezuela, in our own country the KKK, the liberal left, the conservative right, you name it, the tactic works. Oh yeah it worked pretty good for our founding fathers too. In Luiz's case it is an easy way to grab world attention and also garner support from your countrymen. Fortunately for me I am still on the good guy list because although I am white, I have brown eyes. :rofl:

Don't be so certain you're on the "good guy" list. A white boy with brown eyes is just a white boy with blue eyes wearing brown contact lenses trying to escape the lynching mob. :biggrin:
 
  • #17
Ivan Seeking said:
So by saying "white with blue eyes" he is saying "developed nations"? How does that equate?
It is an overgeneralizing for our oligarchy, who very much still does hold to a "white man's burden" mentality with a myopic sense of justice.
 

1. What did Brazil's leader say about white people and the crisis?

Brazil's leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, claimed that the economic crisis in Brazil is due to the country's reliance on white people, specifically blaming the Portuguese colonial legacy.

2. Is there any evidence to support this claim?

No, there is no evidence to support this claim. Economic crises are complex issues with various factors at play, and it is not accurate to blame one group of people for the entire crisis.

3. How have people responded to this statement?

Many people, both within Brazil and internationally, have condemned Bolsonaro's statement as racist and divisive. The statement has also sparked a larger conversation about the country's history of colonialism and race relations.

4. Has Bolsonaro made similar statements in the past?

Yes, Bolsonaro has a history of making controversial and divisive statements, including previous comments that have been deemed racist, sexist, and homophobic.

5. How has this statement affected Brazil's relationship with other countries?

There has been some diplomatic fallout from Bolsonaro's statement, with several European countries expressing concern and criticism. This statement has also added to existing tensions between Brazil and other countries over environmental policies and human rights issues.

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