Montevideo (AFP)

"When you touch a Uruguayan, you touch us all," says Silvina Rosas, sticking a label on wine bottles with the words "Gracias Negrito", the expression which earned football star Edinson Cavani a sanction for "racism" in Great Britain.

"Gracias Negrito" literally means "Thank you little Black".

In Uruguay, the very common expression is meant to be affectionate and can be addressed to anyone, whatever their skin color.

So Silvina Rosas "got angry" when she learned that the English Football Federation (FA) had suspended for three matches and fined the Manchester United striker (111,000 euros) for writing " Gracias Negrito ”to a friend on Instagram.

Owner of a wine distribution company, she had the idea of ​​making a photomontage with the offending mention.

Faced with the success on social networks, she finally decided to stick these labels on real bottles and the requests exploded.

"The reaction was incredible. People understood that it had been done with love," she told AFP.

This initiative is symbolic of the avalanche of reactions provoked in the small South American country of 3.5 million inhabitants by the sanction against its international star.

In addition to the support of the Federation and the Union of Uruguayan Footballers, the Confederation of South American Football (Conmebol) and even the Academy of Letters of Uruguay and Argentina, the player was able to count on that of his compatriots: the keyword #GraciasNegrito has invaded the social network Twitter and T-shirts have been printed with the mention in question.

Because for many Uruguayans, the sanction of the FA stems above all from ignorance of the local culture where the words "black", "black" and their diminutives can be used in a friendly manner.

Some even saw colonialist overtones there, accusing England of wanting to impose its standards on the rest of the world.

- "Self-criticism" -

However, voices are being heard, especially in the Afro-Uruguayan community, to open a debate on the issue.

For the Afro-Uruguayan footballer Mathias Acuña, 28, the sanction against Edinson Cavani is unfair because the latter has never committed an act that could be interpreted as racist, but it must not mask the discrimination that exists in Uruguay.

"Racism in Uruguay and in football exists (...) and everyone should be self-critical (...) because we are neither black nor white, we are just people", underlines- he.

According to a 2020 World Bank report, Uruguay stands out in Latin America for its "very progressive social policies and low level of inequality", but some people are "more likely to be excluded", notably Afro-descendants which represent 8% of the population.

For Martin Rorra, 28, member of the association "Jovenes Afro" (Young Afro), which campaigns for more equality, the debate lacked "reflection and critical analysis".

"Firstly because it is an idol of international stature, with all that that implies for a country where football is king like Uruguay, then it sent a mirror to the whole of society because it's really a habit to say + Negrito + or + Negrita, "he said.

"There is a refusal to question these habits and to perceive the racism that we have received in such a natural way", underlines the young man.

"We must take into account the historical origin of this word" and perhaps "restore" its meaning.

As elsewhere in Latin America, the Afro-Uruguayan population descends from the slaves taken to the South American country during the time of the slave trade.

Alicia Esquivel, a doctor, member of the Afro-Uruguayan community and a graduate in public policy and gender, told a television program that the appearance of products labeled "Gracias Negrito" had "hurt" her.

"It shows that these people are unaware of what we are asking: that this expression be removed from everyday language," she said.

"If we really want to engage against racism, we will have to take decisions that will not please everyone, that will cause rejection in our culture," predicts Martin Rorra.

© 2021 AFP