Mexico’s Migration Institute (INM) announced it has banned an Argentinian woman from re-entering the country after she was caught on video calling a woman in Mexico City a “horrible Indian.” Moreover, the woman’s partner also physically attacked the neighbor who caught the incident on camera.
The Argentinian woman was apparently angry at one of her Mexican neighbors over tree-trimming on their street, and at one point calls her the Spanish phrase “india horrible,” an insulting way to refer to Indigenous or dark-skinned people. There are two words used in Mexico for Indigenous people — “indígena” and “india,” the latter being unmistakably insulting.
The local neighbors association asked authorities to crop trees after one fell on top of two cars on July 13. In return, the couple verbally attacked government workers and neighbors.
Once the video was shared on social media, users asked Mexican authorities to investigate the incident and to deport the woman.
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After the video went viral, the National Migration Institute (INM) announced it would verify the woman’s migratory status; however, the woman left the country days after the video went viral.
It later emerged that local authorities launched an investigation against the couple over discrimination , threats, and damages charges.
After receiving major backlash, Julieta Barrionuevo and Alejandro Montes de Oca, the attackers, released s statement explaining the incident. They confirmed the man is Mexican and said a man who was present during the argument told them to go back to their country. She also apologized for using a racial slur and said Mexico is one of the most beautiful countries she has been to.
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The National Migration Institute said that the foreigner caught a flight out of Mexico after the incident earlier this week and that she would be banned from returning. She and her partner taught Tango in Mexico City.
The agency did not identify the woman or her nationality, but she is heard on the video speaking with a strong Argentine accent and after the incident, the Argentine Embassy posted a statement condemning the incident.
The embassy wrote on its Facebook page, “Regarding the events made public yesterday involving people who are apparently Argentine citizens, the country’s Embassy in Mexico rejects and condemns any expression of discrimination and/or gender violence.”
The incident took place in Mexico City ’s upscale Hipódromo- Condesa neighborhood, where few Indigenous people can afford to live. Most Mexicans have some Indigenous ancestry and are often darker-skinned than Argentines, whose ancestors were often immigrants from Europe.
There have been complaints in the past among Mexicans that lighter-skinned Argentines are arrogant or get preferential treatment in Mexico.
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