Bolsonaro Says Black Brazilians Aren't Owed Anything Over Slavery

[Judi Lynn]

By David Biller

July 31, 2018, 7:55 AM CDT Updated on July 31, 2018, 10:17 AM CDT
- Africans handed over slaves, Bolsonaro says in TV interview
- Allegations of torture in dictatorship were mostly fabricated

Jair Bolsonaro, a favorite in the Brazilian presidential race, said his country owed blacks no debt because of slavery and pledged to cut back affirmative action policies.

"What debt of slavery? I never enslaved anyone in my life," the former Army captain said in an interview on TV Cultura late on Monday. "Look, if you really look at history, the Portuguese didn’t even step foot in Africa. The blacks themselves turned over the slaves.”

Under the leftist administrations of Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, Brazil significantly stepped up university quotas for minorities and the poor, including for blacks.

Bolsonaro, who leads opinion polls that exclude the imprisoned Lula, said quotas are unfair and pit Brazilians against each other.

More:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-31/brazil-candidate-bolsonaro-minimizes-slavery-praises-trump

[heaven05]

1. lots of racism

in Brazil.