Somos Iguais: Discrimination in Brazilian Soccer

For many years, soccer in Brazil has reflected the struggle with racial discrimination faced in their society. When British sailors introduced soccer to Brazil, it was considered to be a sport for the elite. The descendants of Europeans and other aristocrats eventually created soccer clubs in major Brazilian cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where they could have official competitive teams. These clubs became places where the elite members of society could not only play soccer, but also socialize with each other. Members of the working class were not permitted in the clubs and much less on their soccer teams.

As the clubs became more popular, the business and factory owners from the clubs began to implement soccer programs for their workers. Inexpensive substitutes for the game also became popular among the lower classes. It was from these working-class suburbs that Vasco da Gamma, one of the oldest clubs in Brazil, was the first to recruit players “whether they were white, black, or mulatto.”¹ They originally faced resistance from society and the other clubs, but eventually with the professionalization of soccer in the 1930s it became possible for members of the working class to become players for the major soccer clubs. Since then, famous players such as Didi, Pelé and Garrincha have “helped turn physical disadvantages and stigma like skin color into embodiments of excellence in football.”¹ Social anthropologist Leite Lopez argues that “Brazil’s working classes have succeeded in making a silent contribution to their relative social assent.” However there is still a long way to go in order for them to achieve social equality. Recent events in soccer games highlight faults with the “image of tolerance that the [Brazilian] government is trying to portray.”²

Arouca, a midfielder from Santos, was called a monkey by fans this March. A month earlier, Tinga, a midfielder from Belo Cruzeiro was racially abused while playing a game in Peru. Even referees are subject to racism; Chagas from Rio Grande do Sul was pushed to quit officiating because of it. The media has recently focused on this issue when Brazilian Daniel Alvez ate a banana thrown at him by a fan when he was playing for Barcelona in the Spanish League. With the upcoming World Cup, “the eyes of the world will be on Brazil” as Chagas describes², and racism during the games would capture even more international media attention and highlight the issues of discrimination in Brazilian society.

In response, the government of Brazil is promoting messages of antiracism through various advertising campaigns. For example, the somos iguais (or “we are equal”) campaign was launched after the incidents of racism in soccer earlier this year. While some may argue that the government is simply trying to mask the issues of racism while Brazil is under the international spotlight, the World Cup could also be an opportunity to encourage change in the country as a whole. As fans from all over Brazil follow the World Cup, it can be used to promote a society without discrimination and continue the progress of Brazil’s working class. 

Below is an example of the somos iguais campaign:

         

¹ Leite Lopes, José Sergio. "Class, Ethnicity, and Color in the Making of Brazilian Football." Dædalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 129.2 (2000): 239-70.

² Panja, Tariq and Edgerton, Anna. “World Cup Racism Undercuts Brazil ‘We Are Equal’ Campaign.” Bloomberg news (May 2014). Retrieved from:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-30/world-cup-racism-undercuts-brazil-we-are-equal-campaign.html