Encruzilhadas do racismo no Brasil: agências críticas em uma situação de racismo como problema público

Abstract

This thesis addresses the murder of João Alberto Silveira Freitas, a 40-year-old Black man, at a Carrefour store in Porto Alegre on November 19, 2020, the eve of Black Awareness Day, the Carrefour Case. From a pragmatist perspective anchored in theories of critique and crisis, documentary research and interviews were conducted with some of the main actors involved in the case. This allowed for the reconstruction of their reflexivities, critiques, justifications, and performances that elevated a particular situation of violence into a public problem. By examining the denunciations, indignations, negotiations, tensions, agreements, etc., produced throughout the entire process, it was possible to verify that the concept of structural racism, originating from the social sciences and used politically by the agents, played a fundamental role in the formation of the case, a crisis scenario understood both as a lived experience for the social actors and as a discursive mediator between them. It was possible to identify three relevant macro actors: journalism, the Black Movement, and Carrefour. Journalism was largely responsible for the societalization of the case, fostering a public arena or crisis community. The Black Movement sought to politicize the case, going beyond the limits of the specific situation to a general context in pursuit of recognition. Carrefour sought to manage the crisis through its management strategies, such as the implementation of a Crisis Committee and a Cooperation Agreement (TAC). Amidst a chaotic reality, the agents dialogically articulated themselves in search of building a new normality.