Argentine lawmaker slams US congresswoman's 'racist' claim, invites her to Buenos Aires

Argentine lawmaker Marcela Pagano has sharply rebuked U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who accused Argentina of having a racist history. Pagano, a member of the Coherencia bloc, publicly challenged Crockett's assertions, demanding a retraction and extending an invitation to visit Buenos Aires.

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In Buenos Aires, we tell those who speak with complete certainty about what they don't know that they are bluffing. Today, Congresswoman Crockett was bluffing in the Capitol about Argentina's 'racist history.' I sent an email to her personal inbox asking her to retract, reminding her of historical facts about her country.

In a message shared on social media, Pagano accused Crockett of speaking from a position of ignorance. "In Buenos Aires, we tell those who speak with complete certainty about what they don't know that they are bluffing," Pagano stated. She revealed she had emailed Crockett personally, providing historical facts about both Argentina and the United States to dispute the claim of racism.

Pagano cited historical milestones in Argentina, such as the 1813 assembly declaring children of slaves free and the 1853 Constitution abolishing slavery. She contrasted this with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1857 ruling, which she claimed denied Black men rights that white men were obligated to respect. Pagano also criticized Crockett for referencing Spain, the colonial power responsible for bringing enslaved people to the region, suggesting Crockett was misattributing historical issues.

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In 1813, 50 years before [Abraham] Lincoln signed his Proclamation, an assembly in Buenos Aires declared the children of slaves free. In 1853 our Constitution stated that in Argentina there are no slaves, and that any slave who set foot on this soil became free by the mere fact of stepping on it. Do you know what your country's Supreme Court said four years later, in 1857? That a Black man had no rights that a white man was obliged to respect.

"You took your country's problems, which are real and enormous, and tried to fit them onto mine like an ill-fitting shoe," Pagano wrote. "It doesn't fit, madam. Here, history was woven with a different thread: the port, the tenement, the mix. Our sins are ours, and yours are yours, and neither can be explained by the other's manual."

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You took your country's problems, which are real and enormous, and tried to fit them onto mine like an ill-fitting shoe. It doesn't fit, madam. Here, history was woven with a different thread: the port, the tenement, the mix. Our sins are ours, and yours are yours, and neither can be explained by the other's manual.

Pagano concluded her message by inviting Crockett to experience Buenos Aires, particularly San Telmo on a Sunday, to witness the candombe drums and visit archives. "Come on a Sunday to San Telmo, when the candombe drums sound, which is the music that survived our forgetfulness," she urged. "I myself will take you to the archives. They don't bite. And they have a strange habit: they don't lie."

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Come on a Sunday to San Telmo, when the candombe drums sound, which is the music that survived our forgetfulness. I myself will take you to the archives. They don't bite. And they have a strange habit: they don't lie.