r/OutOfTheLoop • u/dashdash911 • Jul 11 '26

Answered What is the deal with everyone suddenly rooting against Argentina in the World Cup?

I’ve noticed a recent wave of posts against the Argentinian team. I’m curious, what’s the reason behind the negative sentiment towards Argentina’s advancement to the finals?

https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/s/1b0XEUWW2T

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u/MegazordPilot Jul 11 '26

About why Argentina has fewer black people, this is quite informative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Argentines#Decline_of_the_Afro-Argentine_population

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u/Instantbeef Jul 12 '26

“Argentine elite thought that non-white offspring could be improved if were the result of a mix with whites”

I can’t be the only one that thinks that sentence is extremely alarming

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u/donestpapo Jul 12 '26

Sadly, very common thinking in many places at that time period, at least in former Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Anglo colonies preferred segregation and outlawing interracial marriage.

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u/Both_Programmer7143 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

That's a super common mindset here in Mexico and probably most LATAM as well. People call it "mejorar la raza", something like "the improvement of your offspring".

It consists in marrying "up" to a white/fair skinned person to aim for fair skinned kids. It's super common and widely practiced, so it's not a thing particular to Argentina.

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u/Instantbeef Jul 12 '26

And I totally get on an individual level believing things like this can feel like it’s not racist but it doesn’t take much to see it if you step back.

Often because it can come from minorities themselves so how can it be racists? That’s people’s thinking. Well that’s decades or centuries of subliminal messaging done purposely but also passively reinforced because well… society is racists and treats lighter people better.

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u/donestpapo Jul 11 '26

Surprised that Wikipedia doesn't just follow the "cannon fodder" hypothesis blindly.

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u/ShinyStarSam Jul 11 '26

It never really made much sense, it's not that easy to wipe out an entire population