As It Enters the Sporting Spotlight, Brazil Calls on the World to Rethink Race
By Siân Herbert,
Guardian UK
| 08. 14. 2012
Brazil is now officially on track for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. In a bid to open the world's eyes to the real Brazil – past the flat-Earth vision of carnivals and caipirinhas – the government has put its weight behind a campaign set to shake up global debates on race.
The campaign, "
We R no race" ("Nós não temos raça"), offers free DNA testing to the public to prove there is only one race – the human race. Genome mapping reveals that human beings are actually 99.5% genetically identical; and that the majority of human genetic diversity exists
within local populations, much less existing
between local populations. In short, there is no
genetic basis for race.
The project, led by
Brazilian geneticist professor Sérgio Pena, hopes to DNA test all footballers taking part in the 2014 World Cup, and potentially all Olympians in 2016. The Brazilian embassy in London is currently piloting the scheme, offering free DNA tests to the public. Brazil's minister of sport – Aldo Rebeldo –
was first in line...
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