Organized protests in at least six Brazilian cities on Sunday (17th) rallied against the death of a 19-year-old black man inside a grocery store in Rio de Janeiro. The store belongs Extra, to one of the largest supermarket chains in Brazil.
Protesters carried signs with slogans like "Black Lives Matter," "My Color Is Not For Mourning," "The Cheapest Meat Belongs To Black People" and "Extra Is A Murderer." Social movements endorsed the protests and criticized the high death rate of young black people in Brazil.
Pedro Henrique Gonzaga died on Thursday (14th) after being immobilized by a security guard at an Extra in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood.
The guard lay down on top of Gonzaga for over a minute, even after onlookers warning that the young man was unconscious and his hands looked purple. According to family members, Gonzaga was a drug addict and had a seizure.
The victim went into cardiac arrest and the security guard Davi Ricardo Moreira Amâncio, 32 was arrested and indicted for manslaughter.
The protests happened in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and Campo Grande.
One of the main rally cries on Sunday was inspired on the "Black Lives Matter" movement, that took thousands of people to the streets after the death of teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
Extra released a statement declaring that the company "understands the pain and offers its solidarity" to the protesters, and claims to be internally investigating the episode.
Translated by NATASHA MADOV