The controversial statement was made at a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. There the Argentine head of state said: “The Mexicans come from the Indios, the Brazilians come from the jungle, but we Argentinians came by ship from Europe.” What was actually intended as a flattering remark to his Spanish guest developed in Latin America to a massive shit storm.
The outrage in the Brazilian media was not long in coming. Brazil’s right-wing President Bolsonaro posted a picture of himself on Twitter posing with a traditional headdress among indigenous peoples. He only commented: “SELVA!” – that is, jungle, probably a sarcastic response to the statements of his counterpart. The Argentinians in Latin America are considered a little too proud of their predominantly European origins anyway.
Alberto Fernández later emphasized the diversity of Argentina
Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo, himself a member of the Brazilian Congress, also commented maliciously: “The ship that is sinking is Argentina,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to the poor economic situation in the country. Fernández later rowed back: “I didn’t mean to offend anyone. If you feel attacked, I apologize, ”he shared on Twitter. “In the first half of the 20th century, we took in over five million immigrants who live with our indigenous peoples. Our diversity is our pride. “
At the meeting in Buenos Aires, the Argentine president had mixed up several quotes. Fernández actually wanted to refer to the Mexican Nobel Prize for Literature, Octavio Paz, who is said to have once said: “The Mexicans descended from the Aztecs, the Peruvians from the Incas and the Argentines came on ships.” remembers a lyrics of his favorite singer Litto Nebbia. In the song “Llegamos de los barcos” (We came from the ships) there is a very similar passage.