Taken from the paper: "Stuart Hall examines how the “dominant cultural order” is used to interpret codes, which have “institutional/political/ideological order imprinted in them and have themselves become institutionalized” (34). This naturally creates a hierarchy for modes of understanding cultural codes, leaving alternative interpretations either forgotten or unrecognized, or open to mockery and scrutiny. For many Spaniards, Conguitos are synonymous with fun, escapism, and nostalgia for youth, yet the persistence of the name itself and the ways that Spaniards have appropriated the cultural construct reveal (as will later be demonstrated) that the racial undertones have not disappeared."
I'm more than happy to acknowledge this is complex. I don't think Bernie is evil or especially racist, but I think it's a mascot that still has racial undertones, particularly when placed into its history, and especially when taken out of Spain/Portugal. I also think taking my concerns in bad faith and assuming that I'm a snowflake or whatever actually confirms what Hall is talking about here (Hall being one of the biggest influences on how I see and think about these things, having written The Empire Strikes Back and Policing the Crisis, among other things).