Out of 98 discrimination complaints in 1 year, 90% are against public entities

 Despite the fact that Matamba and the owner of the accused restaurant embraced in reconciliation, the Vice Ministry of Decolonization filed a criminal complaint for discrimination and reported that it will follow up on the case.

In one year, the Vice Ministry of Decolonization received 98 complaints of racism and discrimination. Of this number, according to the authorities, 90% of the cases are against public entities, among the main ones are the Police and institutions in the areas of justice, health and education.

"The National Committee against Racism and all forms of Discrimination -in 2021- attended 98 cases of racism and discrimination facts, of which more than 90% were made in public institutions", explained to Página Siete the general director of Fight Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination, under the Vice-Ministry of Decolonization, Daniel Villarroel Achá.

According to the authority, during 2020 no cases were reported because that year the Ministry of Culture closed, but a year later it resumed this work.

Villarroel said that among the most reported public institutions are the Police and public institutions that provide justice, health and education services. "Those are the most recurrent," he said.

The authority explained that the type of complaint "did not change substantially", as people continue to be discriminated against because of "their origin, skin color, clothing and language".

On Wednesday, the singer Juan Carlos Chiorino Basurco, better known as Matamba, denounced through social networks that he was a victim of discrimination by the owner of the restaurant Brasargent Rodizio & Churrasquería in Santa Cruz, Ruth Paniagua. According to the artist's account, one of the workers asked him to leave because his shoulders were uncovered.  She told him that "his clothes were inappropriate to be in that place".

In view of this situation, the vice-minister of Consumer Defense, Jorge Silva, informed on Thursday that the store was fined 23,000 bolivianos.

Yesterday, Paniagua and Matamba met and hugged each other. The woman apologized to him and the artist accepted.

Despite the meeting, Decolonization personnel informed that they will continue with the lawsuit. Yesterday, the management filed a complaint against the owner.

Villarroel said that according to Law 045 Against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and the powers of the Committee to Combat Racism, this directorate initiated criminal proceedings against the owner of the restaurant. "The complaint was filed before the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Cruz, as well as before the municipality of Santa Cruz so that the persons who committed this crime are sanctioned by criminal and administrative means".

The restaurant will also be required to eliminate from its internal rules any restriction that generates discrimination. 

He added that follow-up will be made so that the complaint ends with sanctions.

Villarroel said that according to his reports, in 2021 only one case of discrimination was reported in a restaurant in La Paz. "A citizen who was asking for resources, was expelled shouting, with insults, from a restaurant. The incident was caused by a foreign citizen. In the same way, said local was subject to the corresponding sanctions".

According to the authority, in 2021, 16 disciplinary sanctions were achieved to public servants for this crime. "There were policemen with definitive discharges, in addition to a servant of the Executive Committee of the Bolivian University (CEUB) was removed," he explained.