Carrefour CEO in Brazil apologizes in a TV statement

The CEO of the Carrefour Group in Brazil, Noel Prioux, spoke this Saturday (21.nov.2020) on the death of the self-employed João Alberto Freitas, 40, known as Beto, who was murdered during the approach of a store’s security guards of the company, in Porto Alegre, on the night of Thursday (19.nov.2020).

The announcement was initially shown on TV Globo, during the National Newspaper, and later replicated on the internet. In just over a minute, Prioux and the group’s vice president of Human Resources, João Senise, stated that João Alberto’s case does not represent the company’s values.

Prioux apologized to João Alberto’s family. He classified the beating as a tragedy and said he was unable to fully understand the size of the case.

“What happened at the Carrefour store was a tragedy of incalculable dimensions, the extent of which is beyond my comprehension, as a privileged white man that I am. So, first of all, my feelings for João Alberto’s family and my apology to our customers, to society and to our employees ”, disse Prioux.

Senise said that more than half of Carrefour’s employees in Brazil are black and black. It also ensured that more than 30% of managers declared themselves black or brown. “What happened in our store does not represent who we are or our values. Fifty-seven percent of our employees are black and black, and more than a third of our managers call themselves black or brown. But we are aware that we need more concrete and effective actions to strengthen our culture of diversity ”, said.

In the video, Prioux also stated that João Alberto’s death will serve as a stimulus to the company’s commitment to combat structural racism in Brazil.

“I reinforce my commitment to all Brazilian families. If a crisis like this is happening to us, it is because we have a responsibility to change that in society. João Alberto’s death cannot pass in vain. And that is why we are today committed to helping to combat structural racism. In the next few days, we will communicate all of our initiatives and the committee dedicated exclusively to this cause. Once again, my sincere apologies ”, he stated.

Watch (1min45s):

CONTEXT

João Alberto Silveira Freitas, 40, known as Beto by his friends, was assaulted in a unit at the Carrefour supermarket in Porto Alegre (RS), on the night of Thursday (19.nov.2020) – the day before Black Awareness Day, celebrated on November 20.

The two suspects, Giovane Gaspar da Silva, a 24-year-old military policeman and security guard Magno Braz Borges, 30, were arrested in the act.

The Military Brigade, as the Military Police in Rio Grande do Sul is called, reported that the beating began after a disagreement between the victim and an employee of the supermarket, which is in the north of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. The victim allegedly threatened to hit the employee, who called security.

After security at the supermarket arrived, Freitas was taken from the cashier area to the entrance to the store and, according to the Civil Police, had started the fight after punching the military policeman with 1 punch. Then the victim was beaten by the men.

In the images circulating on the networks, it is possible to see 2 men wearing black clothes, commonly used by security guards, punching Freitas in the face, which is on the floor.

A woman who was close to them appears to film the action of the attackers. Then, with blood already spread on the floor, other people appear around the attacked man, while the 2 attackers continue to try to mobilize him on the floor.

A team from Samu (Mobile Emergency Service) tried to revive the man after he was beaten, but Freitas died on the spot.

Watch the videos below (attention: the following images can be disturbing. The preview is only available to people over 18, directly on the YouTube platform):

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