Considering the ambiguity this essay may fall into, since two words may be interpreted differently by the writer and the reader, they will be defined in order to clearly clarify what is mostly meant to be communicated. First, there is racism which is defined as follows: “the belief that people's qualities are influenced by their race and that the members of other races are not as good as the members of your own, or the resulting unfair treatment of members of other races”. Then, there is inequality: “the unfair situation in society when some people have more opportunities, money, etc. than other people” (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Having clarified necessary meanings and having read all the referenced bibliography stated at the bottom of this document, this essay will demonstrate whether or not the media or local institutions have reinforced racism and/or social inequality in Ecuador.
To begin with, we are going to establish that the media broadcasts TV shows and programs that may include stereotypes that portrait racist views in their messages. This was seen in one of the most popular shows in the Ecuadorian history (El Universo, 2018), Mis adorables entenados where one of the characters was an Afro-Ecuadorian who was permanently bullied by his step-brother using offensive analogies as well as humiliating adjectives to address him. This is not the case of comedies only, sports broadcasts have always been stained with racism as well; One example that supports this is the name albo (white color), frequently used by sports commentators to refer to Liga Deportiva Universitaria soccer team. Sadly, this word does not just convey that the team used the white color but according to some when the team was created it also referred to the exclusion of afro descendants from the team’s roster. (Constante, 2013).
In contrast, the media and local institutions in this country have also done their part calling out racism and or inequality when they feel an ethnic or social group has been affected. This is the case of an editorial posted in the local media referring to several cases of racism in the Ecuadorian soccer environment. Stating several cases this journalist asks publicly for changes in the legal framework to finally make these events where Ecuadorian players are denigrated by monkey sounds from the crowds or being called monkeys by other foreign journalists come to and end. (Canessa, 2018). In addition, local Ecuadorian institutions, in this case The Ecuadorian International Affairs Ministry, have addressed the case of the foreign racism journalist, Phillip Butters, firmly with a press release asking the responsible international institution to act in order to correct and prevent any future shameful alike commentaries. (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Mobilidad Humana, 2017)
On the other hand, smaller more informal local institutions seem to still have a gap to overcome when it comes to the topic being discussed. An example of which is the sign found in a local pool in the annexes. The sign reads “It is strictly forbidden for housekeepers to enter de pools and/or the jacuzzi in the club – The Administration”. Such deplorable actions that motivate social inequality or racism seem to have been replicated by others; this was the case of a local restaurant administration allowing a shameful event to take place when they called the police and harassed a soccer player (coincidentally the same Afro-Ecuadorian man affected by the racist comments analyzed in the previous paragraph) without any evidence to be frame him as a criminal. (GOAL, 2018)
Racism and social inequality seem to be have been, and still be, reinforced in our country. Government and formal institutions seem to be doing their job protesting about racist events categorically. However, social inequality and racism does not seem to be an issue being addressed in smaller more informal institutions. As a result, there seems to be an evident lack of legal framework or law enforcement that promotes a positive change, in my experience, in our unequal and racist society. We as a society must seek an improvement looking for public policies to promote equal rights for everyone where no one is harassed by the color of their skin, job or any social difference. At least, it seems that we are protesting; nevertheless, we might have to protest more categorically to achieve such changes.
References
Cambridge University Press. (2018, October 28). RACISM | Meaning in the Cabridge Dictionary. Retrieved from Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/racism
Canessa, M. (2018, August 25). Mario Canessa: Racismo en el deporte, ‘soy negro, y qué. Retrieved from El Universo: https://www.eluniverso.com/deportes/2018/08/25/nota/6921020/racismo-deporte-soy-negro-que
Constante, R. (2013, December 17). T-UCE-0009-178. Retrieved from Repositorio Digital de la Universidad Central del Ecuador: http://www.dspace.uce.edu.ec/bitstream/25000/2393/1/T-UCE-0009-178.pdf
El Universo. (2018, October 29). Mis adorable entenados ¡Llegó la alegría del teatro! Retrieved from El Universo: http://www.larevista.ec/actualidad/show/mis-adorables-entenados-llego-la-alegria-del-teatro
GOAL. (2018, October 30). Ecuador: Felipe Caicedo demanda a dueño de restaurante por racismo. Retrieved from GOAL: https://www.goal.com/es/news/470/f%C3%BAtbol-de-am%C3%A9rica/2009/06/27/1349351/ecuador-felipe-caicedo-demanda-a-due%C3%B1o-de-restaurante-por
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Mobilidad Humana. (2017, June 16). 1691384.pdf. Retrieved from El Comercio: http://cde.3.elcomercio.pe/doc/0/1/6/9/1/1691384.pdf
