Macaquitos

Macaquitos (English: Little Monkeys) is a racist term used occasionally by Argentine fans against Brazilians within the context of the football rivalry between the two countries. This pejorative term links the black and mulatto origins of many Brazilian football players to monkeys.

The first time the word was quoted was in 1920 after a friendly match that Argentina won 3-1. It was again used by Argentine fans in several of the ensuing matches, but fell out of use during the 1940s. In later years, the yellow press has used the expression to fan the flames of rivalry.

Argentina's newspaper Diario Olé ran the controversial headline Que vengan los macacos ("bring on the monkeys"), when Argentina's rival for the final match of the 1996 Olympics was to be decided between Brazil and Nigeria. The headline was criticised both in Argentina and Brazil. Nigeria eventually won the match, and went on to defeat Argentina in the final; Brazil achieved bronze.

Some claim that the term was first used among the Argentine troops during the War of the Triple Alliance .

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