Alberto Fernández: "The Mexicans came out of the Indians, the Brazilians came out of the jungle, but we, the Argentines, arrived on ships from Europe"

After the conference with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez, President Alberto Fernández became a trend on Wednesdays after mentioning -as he said- a quote from the Mexican writer Octavio Paz.

The Mexicans came out of the Indians, the Brazilians came out of the jungle, but we Argentines arrived on ships from Europe. This is how we built our society .

The phrase attributed to the Nobel Prize in Literature, however, is far from the one mentioned by the President, who declared himself "Europeanist." “The Mexicans are descended from the Aztecs; the Peruvians, from the Incas, and the Argentines, from the ships, ”Paz would have said.

In particular, Fernández cited more of a song by the musician Litto Nebbia that bears the name “We arrived from the boats”.

The President's phrase led to a controversy on social networks and the two other countries mentioned.

Reactions in Mexico and Brazil

Former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón criticized Alberto Fernández for his phrase that upset Brazilians and Mexicans.

"How about Octavio Paz's quote!? Well, 'Europeans' (will it be a complex?). Here we say: 'It is not the fault of the Indian, but the one who makes him president.'," tweeted Calderón, president from 2006 to 2012.

¿¡Qué tal la cita de Octavio Paz!? Bien “ europeos” (¿será un complejo?) pero le falta un poquito de cultura al Presidente de Argentina. Acá decimos: “no tiene la culpa el indio, sino el que lo hace presidente”. https://t.co/zSuT1MPllp

— Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) June 9, 2021

Eduardo, a federal deputy and son of the president, was the first member of the Bolsonaro family to react to the statements, which he defined as "racist." "Won't they say that it was RACIST against the indigenous and African people who formed Brazil?" Asked the president's son, branded by the Brazilian press as a parallel "chancellor" for his influence on foreign relations policy. "However, the ship that is sinking is that of Argentina," he said.

Jair Bolsonaro answered with an image: "JUNGLE!"

- SELVA! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/cT9AGjdj5K

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) June 10, 2021

Sources: La Nación / Clarín