The Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, said on Wednesday (11), that environmental racism exists, no matter how much there is an understanding of society about the term.
“Of course, overnight, people will not understand or will not accept the [conceito de] Environmental racism. But it exists. And it’s knocking on our door, ”he said.
The minister’s speech took place during a debate on racism and climate change in São Paulo. Beside her was Ailton Krenak, indigenous and immortal leader of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (GLA).
Anielle was the target of opposition criticism when, in early 2024, she used the term to talk about the impacts of rainfall that reached the state of Rio de Janeiro in January.
In a publication on social networks, the minister had pointed out that “the effects of rain,” would also be “fruit of the effects of environmental and climate racism.”
Environmental racism is a concept used to describe, among other cases, when socioeconomically vulnerable populations suffer more from climatic events compared to people from wealthier classes.
At the time, parliamentarians mocked the speech, saying that Anielle was implying that the environment could be racist. Ministers and the federal government, by means of a note, came out in defense of the minister.
At the event on Tuesday, Anielle stressed that the concept originates in the United States and dated from the 1980s. “I did not invent the term environmental racism,” he said.
To exemplify the concept, Anielle, who lived in Complexo da Maré, highlighted inequalities in the state capital.
“Many times, we could not enter or leave (from the community) because of the rains,” he said, highlighting how much this prevented from school and work by residents.
On the other hand, “there were places in the South Zone that woke up with some hangover (from the sea), but there was nothing devastated there,” he said. “People didn’t lose their homes,” he concluded.
