In the last weeks, political tensions in Portugal have arisen following public demonstrations of extreme right organizations that have also threatened anti-racist activists. On August 11, black antiracist activist Mamadou Ba and other nine persons (antiracist, antifascist and LGBT rights activists, MPs and trade union leaders) received an e-mail sent by a neo-Nazi movement that threatened them and their families if they did not leave the country in the next 48 hours. In July the headquarters of the movement SOS Racismo in Lisbon was vandalized – “War against the enemies of my land” was written on the facade – and in August, three days before the aforementioned e-mail was sent, several neo-Nazis gathered in protest in front of the building, performing a KKK-marching-style with torches and white masks.
Many activists and academics across the world have signed a letter in support of Mamadou Ba and antiracists organizations in Portugal. This is the letter.
Letter in support of Mamadou Ba and political antiracism in Portugal
The denial of structural racism is the rule in Europe, and Portugal is not an exception. Portuguese institutions and civil society have not come to terms with the history and legacies of colonialism and racial enslavement. Complaints of racial discrimination and racist crimes are rarely prosecuted, and the number of condemnations is very low. The strengthening of antiracist organizations and, in particular, of the black movement, has unsettled mainstream political approaches towards institutionalized racism, racist violence and racial harassment for the last five years.
In this context, the countering of the critique and public denunciation of police brutality and extreme right discourses made by antiracist activists has escalated in the last months. On August 11, black antiracist activist Mamadou Ba and other nine persons (antiracist, antifascist and LGBT rights activists, MPs and trade union leaders) received an e-mail sent by the neo-Nazi movement designated as Nova Ordem de Avis – National Resistance that threatened them and their families if they did not leave the country in the next 48 hours. In July the headquarters of the movement SOS Racismo in Lisbon was vandalized – “War against the enemies of my land” (“Guerra aos inimigos da minha terra”) was written on the facade – and in August, three days before the aforementioned e-mail was sent, several neo-Nazis gathered in protest in front of the building, performing a KKK-marching-style with torches and white masks.
Mamadou Ba has been a militant of immigrant associations and member of SOS Racismo Portugal since the end of the 1990s. He has received threats from extreme right and neo-Nazi organizations since 2012 and has been in the spotlight since January 2019 after he made a public comment in social networks about police brutality and the reaction of certain left-wing militants to the public protest carried out mostly by young black people from the periphery in Lisbon against police violence, after a video of police officers beating the members of a black family went viral in social media. Ba referred to the police as “the fucking cops” (“a bosta da bofia”) and in the following weeks, members of extreme right organizations stalked and harassed him on the street. Two police unions (Associação Sindical dos Profissionais da Polícia and Sindicato Vertical de Carreiras da Polícia) filed criminal complaints against Mamadou Ba, charging him of defamation.
There has been a normalization of extreme right discourses in parliamentary debates and the media in Portugal; for instance, some members of neo-Nazi organizations have been invited to participate on tv programs. Hate speech and harassment in social networks against black antiracist activists have become commonplace. Some police union leaders are also members of Chega!, an extreme right political party with one elected MP, André Ventura, since the national elections held in October 2019. Ventura was a former member of the PSD (Social Democratic Party), a liberal-conservative political party. The election of three black women with different political trajectories, but engaged with the antiracist struggle has made structural racism more explicit in the country.
In the last months, Ventura has organized two demonstrations in Lisbon (June 22; August 2) under the political banner of anti-antiracist politics and support for police forces – “Portugal is not a racist country” (“Portugal não é racista”) has been the political slogan. Ventura has recently commented on the murder of black actor Bruno Candé, of Guinean origin, saying that in Portugal “racism has become an excuse for everything” and stated that “minorities have rights, but also duties”. Candé was shot in broad day light in Lisbon by Evaristo Marinho, a veteran of the so called “Colonial War” against the National Liberation Movements in the African contexts colonized by the Portuguese Empire-State. Witnesses stated that the alleged murderer used racist slurs and threatened Candé days before the murder, as well as on the day he shot him, making comments about his participation in the war.
We want to express our support of Mamadou Ba and his family, and our solidarity with the black movement in Portugal.
We support the protests and collective mobilization happening in Portugal by the antiracist movements and organizations.
We join their call against silence and denial.
We join their call for accountability and concrete change to transform the reality of structural racism and its manifestation in police brutality, racist violence and racial harassment in Portugal.
Abel Djassi, Simmons University, USA
Achille Mbembe, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa/Duke University, USA.
Aderivaldo Ramos de Santana, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, France
Alexandre Rocha da Silva, Instituto Esporte & Educação, Brasil
Álvaro Pereira do Nascimento, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Brasil
Alyosha Goldstein, University of New Mexico, USA
Amal Bentounsi, Urgence notre police assassin, France
Amanj Aziz, Nyans:Muslim, Sweden
Amber Kelsie, Wake Forest University, USA
Amílcar Packer, Oficina de Imaginação Política, Brasil
Amílcar Pereira, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brasil
Amzat Boukari-Yabara, Ligue Panafricaine – UMOJA
Ana Flávia Magalhães Pinto, Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasil
Ana Lúcia Araújo, Howard University, USA
Anderson Ribeiro Oliva, Núcleo de Estudos Afro-Brasileiros-Universidade de Brasília (Neab-UnB), Brasil
André de Godoy Bueno, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brasil
Anna Klobucka, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA
Atef S. Said, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Babacar Faye, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Sénégal
Bado Ndoye, Université Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar, Sénégal
Bárbara Oliveira, Irmandade Pretas Candangas, Brasil
Cayetano Fernández, Kale Amenge – Roma anti-racist movement
César Augusto Baldi, funcionário público federal, Brasil
Cornel West, Harvard University, USA
Daniel Mandur Thomaz, King’s College London, UK
Deborah Santos, NEAB-Universidade de Brasília, Brasil
Delphine Abadie, chercheure associée au LLCP, Université Paris 8, France
Dr. Hilla Dayan, Amsterdam University College, The Netherlands
Dr. Noa K. Ha, Das Deutsche Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM), Deutschland
Dr. Ylva Habel, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden
Edinelia Souza, Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB), Brasil
Elsa Roland, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgique
Emanuelle Santos, Universidade de Birmingham, UK
Euza Raquel de Sousa, Instituto Federal Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil
Evelyn Melo Silva, Advogada brasileira, Brasil
Fabiano Silva dos Santos, advogado, professor universitário UNIP, Brasil
Fatima El-Tayeb, Professor – University of California, USA
Felwine Sarr, Duke University, USA
Fernanda N. Crespo, GEPEAR, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brasil
Flávio Gomes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brasil
Franck Ribard, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Brasil
Françoise Vergès, Politologue, féministe décoloniale, colletiff Décoloniser les arts, France
Fred Moten, New York University (NYU), USA
Gabrielle Oliveira de Abreu, Movimento Mulheres Negras Decidem, Brasil
Georges Franco, artiste peintre, France
Giovanni Picker, University of Glasgow, UK
Gisele Cittadino, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brasil
Gustave Massiah, Centre International de Culture Populaire CEDETIM, France
Houria Bouteldja, Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR), France
Ibtissem Benarabe, Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR), France
Ines Cordeiro Dias, Assistant Professor, Spelman College, USA
Iva Maria Cabral, Fundação Amílcar Cabral, Cabo Verde
Janete Santos Ribeiro, Escola Técnica Estadual Adolpho Bloch (FAETEC/ETEAB) & Núcleo de Estudos Afro-brasileiros-Sankofa, Brasil
Jeferson De, Buda filmes, Brasil
João Gabriel, Ligue Panafricaine-Umoja
José Augusto Rodrigues Jr. Advogado, Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil, São Paulo, Brasil
Jovita Pinto, Bla*Sh – Black Feminist Network, Switzerland
Juliana Souza, Grupo Prerrogativas, Brasil
Laura Harris, New York University (NYU)
Lourival dos Santos, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Brasil
Luciana Boiteux, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Luciene Lacerda, Instituto Búzios, Fórum de Mulheres Negras Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Lucilene Reginaldo, Professora da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Brasil
Luis Carlos Moro, American Association of Jurists, USA
Luk Vervaet, Prisons and solitary confinement in Europe (supermax.be), Belgique
Maboula Soumahoro, Black History Month, France
Malick Gueye, Sindicato Manteros de Madrid, España
Mallé Kassé, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Daka (UCAD), Sénégal
Marcelo Marques de Almeida Filho, Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasil
Marcus Camara, Utah State University, USA
Marcus Vinicius de Oliveira, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Brasil
Maria Paula Fernandes Adinolfi, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN), Brasil
Mariana Wiecko Volkmer de Castilho, Universidade de Brasília, Brasil
Marie-Noëlle Ryan, Université de Moncton, Canada
Mark JL Sabine, School of Cultures, Languages & Area Studies, University of Nottingham, UK
Maurício Brasil, Associação Juízes para a Democracia e Associação Brasileira de Juristas pela Democracia (ABJD), Brasil
Mayara Souza, Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasil
Miguel de Barros, Centro de Estudos Sociais Amílcar Cabral, Guiné Bissau
Moha Gerehou, elDiario.es, España
Mouhad Reghif, Bruxelles Panthères, Belgique
Nacira GUÉNIF, University Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis, France
Natália Barbosa, GEPEAR/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Natalia Gavazzo, CONICET- Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), Argentina
Natasa Petresin-Bachelez, interdependent curator, France/Slovenia
Nengumbi Sukama, Instituto Argentino para la Igualdad, Diversidad e Integración (IARPIDI), Argentina
Nicholas Mirzoeff, New York University (NYU), USA
Nicholas Smith, Södertörn University, Sweden
Nordine Saidi, militant Décolonial et membre de Bruxelles Panthères, Belgique
Paola Bacchetta, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Patricia Schor, Amsterdam University College and Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Pedro Schacht Pereira, The Ohio State University, USA
Piedade Lino Videira, NEAB-Universidade Federal do Amapá, Brasil
Priscilla Marques Campos, GEPEAR-Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/UNIFESP, Brasil
Prof. Paul Goodwin, TrAIN, University of the Arts London, UK
Renísia Cristina Garcia Filice, Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasil
Rokhaya Diallo, journaliste et réalisatrice, France
Roland DOR, Ligue Panafricaine – Umoja (LP-U)
Rosa Pires, PhD student in Sociology, Université du Québec à Montreal, Canada
Sama Abdoulaye, Ligue Panafricaine (LP-U)
Sâmia Bomfim, líder do Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) na Câmara, Brasil
Sara Martins, Golsmiths College, UK
Sarah Babiker, periodista de El Salto, España
Sarah Shamash, Emily Carr University, Canada
Sebijan Fejzula, Kale Amenge – Roma anti-racist movement
Sílvio Almeida, advogado, professor e Presidente do Instituto Luiz Gama, Brasil
Sónia Vaz Borges, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
Soraya El Kahlaoui, Ghent University, Belgique
Stefan Kipfer, York University, Toronto, Canada
Sueli Carneiro – Coordenadora Executiva do Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra – São Paulo, Brasil
Suzana Lopes Salgado Ribeiro, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
Tânia Mara Pereira Vasconcelos, Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB), Brasil
Thayara Cristine Silva de Lima, GEPEAR-Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brasil
Thula Pires, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) & Movimento de Mulheres Negras no Brasil, Brasil
Ugo Palheta, Université de Lille, France
Vânia Gala, Kingston University, UK
Yannick Nagau, Ligue Panafricaine Umoja (LP-U)
Youssef M. Ouled, Periodista y activista antirracista, España
Yuderkys Espinosa, Grupo Latinoamericano de Estudio, Formación y Acción Feminista (GLEFAS), República Dominicana
Yuri Madalosso, Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), Brasil
Collectives and Organizations
Afroindigenas LGBT
Bruxelles Panthères, Belgique
Coletivo Antirracista Acotirene, Brasil
Coletivo Marginal (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Coletivo Nuvem Negra, Brasil
Collectif de Défense des jeunes du Mantois, France
Comité de Vigilance pour la Démocratie en Tunisie, Belgique
Conselho Municipal de Promoção da Igualdade Racial de Guarulhos, Brasil
DefarAskan, Sénégal)
Decolonial International Network (DIN Foundation)
Front Démocratique (FD)
Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Políticas, Ensino de História, Raça e Gênero (GEPPHERG) –
Universidade de Brasília, Brasil
Grupo Prerrogativas, Brasil
International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD) – Team Spain, España
Instituto Cigano do Brasil (ICB), Brasil
Instituto de Defesa da População Negra, Brasil
Instituto Luiz Gama, Brasil
Islamophobia Studies Center, University of California – Berkeley, USA
Ligue Panafricaine Umoja (LP-U)
Mulheres Negras Decidem, Brasil
Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR), France
Rede Antirracista Quilombação, Brasil
Sindicato Manteros de Madrid, España
Transnational Decolonial QTPOC (Queer & Trans People of Color)
Uneafro Brasil, Brasil