Who hasn't heard the podcast of the moment, signed by journalist Chico Felliti from Folha de S.Paulo, probably felt like an outsider in digital universe in recent times. In a matter of days after its release date (June 08), the program reached audience records and ratings (Sheet) on platforms streaming in Brazil and around the world.
ADVERTISING
Understand the story
At the center of the narrative is the abandoned house of Margarida Bonetti, a Brazilian woman who has been a fugitive from the FBI for 24 years, being investigated for keeping a black woman in private prison and other conditions similar to slavery in her residence in the USA. The crimes were committed together with your husband, Renê Bonetti, who served 6 and a half years in prison on American soil. Margarida circumvented the courts of two countries and lives in a mansion in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in São Paulo, the Higienópolis.
The new face of slavery
The report behind the podcast reveals with unprecedented depth and detail the way in which the couple “took away rights and dignity” from the worker, who was illiterate and had forced migration to the USA. At the opening of the program, Chico describes the moment he found the complaints of the crimes in a Newsweek story titled “Slavery's New Face.” The new face of slavery.
O true crime, a genre of crime plots that are based on real events based on stories, have been a growing interest among young audiences
For part of the public, the strength of the story of the “Woman in the Abandoned House” lies in the statement of the problem and those responsible. Many discussions raised the urgency of giving the necessary weight to racism crimes and setbacks in rights.
ADVERTISING
It Twitter thread made by Marcos Queiroz explained how Margarida's behavior may be more common and deep-rooted than it seems in Brazil. The submission of any person or worker in situations analogous to slavery it's a crime. Suspicions or cases can be reported by calling 100 – Hotline Human Rights.
Celebrity Status
With viralization of the podcast and its history, fans and internet users began to complain about the diversion of attention (UOL) to the main crime told in the story. For them, the debate about contemporary slavery and impunity Margarida were replaced by the spectacularization and trivialization of the case. This deviation is also directly related to structural racism. Ana Freitas disagreed with the criticism, saying that “not all reporting journalism is spectacularization” in this tweet which had more than 29 thousand likes. The flurry of controversies continues.
Several fans of the program started going to the mansion and holding meetings on its facade. The address was discovered and widely publicized on the internet. “It turned into a mess” (Exam), said the presenter himself, who fear that “violence is answered with violence”.
ADVERTISING
Police investigation
Last Wednesday (20), the abandoned house in Higienópolis was the target of search and seizure by police agents who had a mandate to check whether Margarida suffers from any psychiatric disorder and whether she was the victim of a crime that violates the Statute of the Elderly. During the period, onlookers tried to climb the wall of the property to monitor the action in the house, which has unsanitary conditions according to the agents. The website UOL told in this report how the police entered, who broke down the door to enter the house.
During the operation, animal rights activist Luisa Mell recorded live the moment when tried to rescue animals that lived in the mansion. The rescue it generated a physical clash between Margarida, a man and Luisa, who managed to take three dogs. Many internet users saw it funny and Luisa's participation in the case became a meme.
the dog of the woman from the abandoned house screamed LUISA MEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL in Luisa Mell's own lap pic.twitter.com/AK4uCFwvc7
— i am hay (@hayninh) July 20, 2022
Top photo: Reproduction/Instagram @amulherdacasaabandonada
