Brazil-Mexico dispute over 'Caramelo' dog; "Samba is our identity," Brazil said

Disputes between countries in the world are usually over borders, trade or politics, but these days the reason for the debate between Brazil and Mexico has become a stray dog. The brown native dog, which is found in millions in Brazil, is called 'Caramelo' there. Now these dogs have become at the center of the identity battle between the two countries. The controversy erupted when Mexico declared Pero Caramello its native ethnic group in April and granted it cultural symbol status. After this, there was an uproar in Brazil from social media to newspapers, people started questioning how Mexico could claim a dog that has been considered Brazil's identity for decades. "Caralo is the face of Brazil," says Luciana of Rio de Janeiro. How can one call it non-Brazilian? Caramos are not just stray animals. They have become so immersed in public life that they have made their way into memes, T-shirts, viral songs, tableaux and even films. He also had a film titled 'Caramelo' on Netflix last year. Not only this, recently a proposal was also made in the parliament to print it on Brazilian currency. Animal welfare activists in Mexico say there are a similar number of dogs. He believes that the climate and history of the two countries have been largely similar. It's not just the dog of one country, but the whole of Latin America." Interestingly, the debate is about identity, but the problem is much bigger. There are still more than 20 million stray dogs in Brazil and more than 90% of them are caramels. Despite being popular, people often prefer exotic breeds when adopting. This is the reason why animal lovers of both countries agree on one thing - whether Carramlo is from Brazil or Mexico, he should not just be seen as a 'wanderer', but as a companion who can find both home and intimacy. Developed from over 300 exotic breeds, this unique breed of dog is not scientifically a purebred dog. According to a study, these dogs are a mix of about 300 breeds. Dogs of different breeds arrived in Brazil along with Portuguese colonists and later tourists from Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan. It was from this mail that this unique group evolved. Being a mixed breed, it also has a relatively low risk of genetic diseases.