PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Supermarket chain
Carrefour Brasil's share price plummeted 6% in
afternoon trading on Monday after the death of a Black man
beaten by security guards last week at one of its Brazil stores,
igniting protests due to resume later in the day.
Shares in the Brazilian chain, the local unit of France's
Carrefour, were the biggest losers on Brazil's Bovespa
benchmark stock exchange index, which was up about 1% overall in
afternoon trading.
A Carrefour Brasil spokesman declined to immediately comment
on the fall in share price.
Some protesters have called for a boycott of the chain after
a graphic video circulated on social media showing two security
guards punching and pinning to the ground 40-year-old João
Alberto Silveira Freitas on Thursday night. The two guards have
been arrested.
The killing sparked Black Lives Matter protests in major
Brazilian cities on Friday, with more than 1,000 demonstrators
gathering at the store in the city of Porto Alegre where the
incident took place. Some of the protesters rioted, destroying
windows and vehicles, and setting fires.
Carrefour's global chairman and CEO Alexandre Bompard said
late on Friday that the images of the beating were "unbearable"
and he condemned racism and violence.
Carrefour Brasil said that it was taking steps to ensure
those responsible were legally punished and that it would
terminate its contract with the firm that provided security at
the store.
Another protest was planned for Monday evening in Porto
Alegre, organized by local Black activists, Black city council
members and the third-tier São José soccer club, which Silveira
Freitas supported.
(Reporting by Diego Vara in Porto Alegre and Jake Spring in
Brasilia; Editing by Howard Goller)