City government establishes partnership with the Ministry of Racial Equality to promote awareness campaign during Carnival.

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall, through the Special Secretariat for Human Rights and Racial Equality (SEDHIR) and Riotur, has partnered with the Ministry of Racial Equality (MIR) to boost the dissemination of the second edition of the campaign "Without Racism, Carnival Shines Brighter". The initiative aims to combat racial discrimination during the event and highlight the significant contribution of Black culture to the realization of the world's largest popular festival. Fans and stickers will be distributed during the pre-Carnival period and during the Carnival festivities to raise public awareness about the prevention and confrontation of racist practices, as well as to encourage reporting of cases of racial slurs and violence. The educational material will be distributed at street Carnival events, in blocos (street parties), balls, technical rehearsals, samba school venues and parades, as well as at the Sambadrome itself.

– We are developing a schedule of locations and events to distribute these materials. We already have a well-established partnership with Liga RJ and we want to expand it by inviting Liesa and the organizations of the street carnival groups and the parades on Intendente Magalhães Avenue. We also intend to visit the VIP boxes at the Sambadrome and coordinate the dissemination in the traditional mega-blocks, which bring together millions of people in the streets of Rio. Our goal is to reach and raise awareness among as many people as possible about the importance of combating racism. This is a fundamental issue not only during Carnival, but throughout the year – explained the Municipal Secretary of Human Rights and Racial Equality, Edson Santos.

– Riotur is joining forces in this partnership because it believes in the importance of initiatives that confront prejudices still present in society. It is essential to raise public awareness, especially during Carnival, with campaigns to combat racism and violence against women – stated the president of Riotur, Bernardo Fellows.

The Minister for Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, said that respect needs to prevail and highlighted the importance of these initiatives for strengthening anti-racist training in the states, which should be effective throughout the year.

– We launched this campaign to care for and respect the Black hands of those who make things happen and also have fun at the greatest show on Earth. Racism is systemic and doesn't stop at Carnival, but we are the people who work and resist so that our country recognizes itself in the tributes to Afro-Brazilian personalities, origins, and traditions, both inside and outside the festivities. Carnival is art, resistance, and resilience.

The main distinguishing feature of the campaign in Rio de Janeiro is the partnership established with Liga RJ, an institution that represents the samba schools of the Série Ouro (Access Group). According to the president of Liga RJ, Hugo Júnior, the organization will distribute the material at technical rehearsals and presentations in the Sambadrome. On February 13th, when the competition begins, MIR members will parade with a banner, distributing fans and stickers, alongside activists, leaders, and people connected to the samba schools.

"Carnival is our greatest cultural movement, a time when all peoples come together, and racism cannot be part of this celebration," declared Hugo Júnior.

According to Marcelo Santana, coordinator for the Promotion of Racial Equality at SEDHIR, decentralizing actions to combat racism is fundamental.

– Closing this partnership with Liga RJ will allow us to get closer to the working people and the communities that make up the samba schools, to take the campaign to the grassroots level in those territories.

Another promotional venue will be the Preta Gil Circuit, created by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall in 2025 on Rua 1º de Março, in homage to the singer, who died from cancer after years of battling for her life. This location is home to some of the city's largest mega-blocos (street carnival groups). This will be the first time the parades will be held under the circuit's new name, consolidating a space that Preta Gil helped transform into a symbol of mass carnival in downtown Rio.

 

The Ministry's Secretary for Combating Racism, Tiago Santana, reminded everyone that offending a person based on their skin color is an act of racial slurs. He warned that stereotypical and stigmatizing fantasies, such as "crazy black woman" and "indigenous person," can no longer be accepted.

– There is no longer room for derogatory fantasies about Black and Indigenous cultures, Afro-Brazilian religions, Black characters, much less Black women. This is not the kind of Carnival culture that Brazilians want.

Tiago Santana said that MIR aims to give visibility to the construction of Carnival by the hands of Black people, who founded the first samba schools.

– Today, a process of whitening and erasing the Black presence in Carnival is taking place. So, when we fight racism, we also confront this internal breakdown.

Furthermore, MIR wants to encourage victims to register their complaints through the hotline 100 or by email at ouvidoria@igualdaderacial.gov.br.

– We will signal to any potential racists that they are not invisible and that we will file complaints and exert pressure so that, if they commit any criminal act, they are held accountable and punished – Tiago emphasized.

The campaign was launched on January 12th by the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, at the Baródromo bar in Maracanã, in the North Zone. The event was attended by the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Macaé Evaristo; Federal Deputy Benedita da Silva; the Secretary of Human Rights and Racial Equality of Rio, Edson Santos; the Secretary for Combating Racism of MIR, Tiago Santana; and the carnival designer Milton Cunha.

Category:

• Human Rights and Racial Equality
• News
• Riotur

January 22, 2026

Appointments: awareness campaign Carnival human rights Racial equality the partnership City Hall of Rio