Argentine lawyer Agostina Páez returned to her native province of Santiago del Estero on Wednesday after paying $18,500 bail for a racial injury accusation in Brazil. She had been detained for three months over gestures deemed racist toward a waiter in Rio de Janeiro. She appeared relieved upon reuniting with her family.
Agostina Páez, 29, arrived at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires and boarded a flight to Santiago del Estero with her lawyer Sebastián Robles and father, Mariano Páez. After paying the bail, Brazilian justice granted her habeas corpus and removed her electronic ankle bracelet, allowing her return to Argentina.
At the airport, Páez expressed her emotion: “I can’t believe I’m here” and “I’m trembling.” She admitted to days of uncertainty and feeling “very helpless.” Her lawyer Robles confirmed arrival in the province after 7 p.m. and that she is “more calm.”
Páez advised Argentines traveling abroad to learn local laws: “Know the context of each country.” Security Minister Patricia Bullrich highlighted on X the lawyers' work, family support, and government aid: “Today there’s only one important thing: she’s here.”
The case drew public attention. Páez described the experience as “very tough” and noted “many injustices,” as reported by TN.
