Brazilian Migrants Research Articles

Detention, death, and deportation: (Re)bordering Brazilian migrants under Bolsonarism and the pandemic

Detention, death, and deportation: (Re)bordering Brazilian migrants under Bolsonarism and the pandemic

The Brazilian Migration Policy in the Context of the Russia‐Ukraine War: A Rights‐Based Response to Forced Displacement?

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a major military incursion on Ukrainian territory, thereby initiating one of the biggest international conflicts of the twenty‐first century. Not only has this conflict claimed the lives of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians, but it has also resulted in mass migration. Against this backdrop, this paper sets out to answer the following question: what are the main legal aspects of the migration policy adopted by the Brazilian state in response to the Ukrainian diaspora? The findings of this research indicate that the Brazilian Federal Government has passed ordinances that can protect the human rights of these people on a temporary basis. Although these ordinances have a precarious nature, their beneficiaries will be able to apply for refugee status when their provisions cease to produce legal effects.

Religion, Politics, and Migration in Brazil: The Search for a Cartography of a Field

Religion, Politics, and Migration in Brazil: The Search for a Cartography of a Field

Religion and Migration: Visual Representations of Venezuelan Migration in Brazil

Religion and Migration: Visual Representations of Venezuelan Migration in Brazil

Unwelcome Migrant Churches—A Case Study of the Portrayal of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in German-Speaking Online Press

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the portrayal of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in German-speaking online press. Utilizing qualitative content analysis, this inquiry examines German-speaking media articles published from 1990 to 2021. Using the systematic methodology developed by Kuckartz and Rädiker, media contents are deconstructed into individual codes and categorized into thematic complexes. This approach provides an understanding of how the UCKG is portrayed in German-speaking online press and therefore may affect Brazilian migrants who are affiliated with the UCKG. The findings of this survey reveal a multifaceted picture of the UCKG and its representation in the German-speaking online press. Dominant themes include the church’s rapid global expansion, the centralization of the leader, and various criminal allegations, predominantly financial crimes and corruption. The study uncovers a consistent pattern of critical and often one-sided media portrayal, contrasting with academic perspectives highlighting the church’s adaptation and diversity in its European context. Additionally, the research illuminates how these media narratives potentially influence public perception and policy decisions regarding the UCKG in Germany. The implications of this study are significant for professionals in the field of migration and religion to gain insights into the complexities of working with religious communities, particularly those facing media scrutiny and public misperceptions.

Portugueses em O cortiço e Emigrantes

Este artigo apresenta uma análise comparada dos romances O cortiço (1890), do brasileiro Aluísio Azevedo, e Emigrantes (1928), do português Ferreira de Castro. O objetivo é identificar como portugueses que emigraram para o Brasil foram representados em personagens dessas obras. Constatou-se que a migração em O cortiço aparece como degeneração provocada pelo meio social e natural hostil do Brasil, conforme preceitos da estética naturalista. Sob efeito do sol, da pobreza e da paisagem humana brasileira, os portugueses ou enriquecem pelo roubo e pela exploração da mão de obra, inclusive escrava, ou se submetem a uma vida de vícios. Por outro lado, esse fluxo migratório aparece como miragem em Emigrantes, pois a possibilidade de enriquecimento na América se desvanece no confronto com a experiência concreta dos personagens. No estudo, são mobilizadas contribuições dos críticos Antonio Cândido, Eduardo Lourenço e Miguel Torga, além de estatísticas que contextualizam a imigração portuguesa no Brasil.

The Brazilian diaspora: Intra‐community dynamics and differentiating factors among Brazilian migrants worldwide

AbstractWhile the Brazilian diaspora scholarship is a vibrant literature that emerged in the 1980s and has gained prominence over the years, it remains geographically dispersed. Most studies focus on Brazilian migrants' experiences in a specific country or region of destination, and less attention has been paid to issues that influence the Brazilian diaspora transnationally. While the experiences of Brazilian migrants in different regions are varied and dependent on exogenous factors in the host society, this article reviews and discusses common markers of identity and positioning that shape intra‐community social dynamics between Brazilians who reside in different regions of the world. These ‘endogenous differentiating factors’ often produce tensions and intra‐community stratification, and may be carried from Brazil to the host community or produced in the host society. This article aims to integrate the geographically dispersed literature and emphasise commonalities experienced by Brazilians worldwide. It also argues that the focus on endogenous differentiating factors relates to a scholarly trend to frame the ‘Brazilian community’ as a heterogeneous entity with its own social dynamics rather than a homogenous ethnic group.

Spiritism in Germany: A Resource of Integration for Brazilian Migrants?

This account of qualitative anthropological field research in Brazil and Germany explores the importance of translocal Spiritist/Kardecist networks as resources for Brazilian migrants in Germany. It focuses on aspects of integration with the host society and conflicts arising from divergent expectations and habits. It introduces the author’s multi-sited investigation within the DFG-funded research project “Diversification of Mental Health: Therapeutic Spaces of Brazilian Spiritism” (implemented by Prof. Dr. Helene Basu 2015–2018) and elaborates on the approach of “translocal relations” as crucial for the theoretical discussion before introducing relevant literature reviews and original research data. Case studies confirm the supportive functions of Brazilian Spiritist centers in Germany for migrants but also illustrate that they serve integration only to a marginal degree. Brazilians use Spiritist centers as a resource for not having to integrate and instead staying among themselves. Being aware that this habit contradicts adaptation to new environments and serves critical political approaches, a small group of Brazilians and Germans establish contested integrative practices. In conclusion, this contribution discusses conflicts emerging from Brazilian migration to Germany in religious-spiritual contexts and illustrates that integration is a multi-directional task.

Getúlio Vargas and the Making of Restrictive Migratory Policies in Post-1930 Brazil

Following Brazil’s “great migration” period (1880–1930) came Getúlio Vargas’s rise to power, marking a radical historical rupture. From 1930 onwards, we observed the construction of a framework of restrictive rules aimed at controlling the entry and stay of foreigners in the country, including an ethnically differentiated management of flows. This article sought to cross-reference the new migratory policy, aimed at both new entries and immigrants already present in the territory, with the issue of race. To this end, it dealt with two groups of immigrants whose flows were directly impacted by the new policies (and by racism), but not in the same way: Japanese and Jews. The reflection also turned to the different experiences in each of the two groups between the candidates for immigration—in the face of the new barriers imposed on entry and those already living in Brazil in the face of the assimilationist measures adopted. Brazilian migration policies and state actions have been studied more often than the agency of immigrants. In this sense, the existing studies have focused more on the management of new flows than on the experience of immigrants already settled in the territory. The text, therefore, assumed a change of perspective, opting for a look “from below” in order to focus on both sides of the scales and the border. Finally, it examined the historiography that dealt with migration policy during the Vargas era and, more specifically, that which focused on Jewish and Japanese immigration.

Moving for Love: Interracial Marriage and Migration in Brazil

The link between marriage and migration is usually considered in terms of international migration. However, domestic migration provides another lens in which to view this connection. In Brazil, despite the large migration from the northeast to the southern regions in the twentieth century, the role of domestic migration in race-mixing has been unacknowledged. Since race in Brazil is highly regionalized, with black and brown Brazilians comprising most northern regions and white Brazilians being in the majority of the southern areas of the country, migration can open possibilities for interracial marriage that are less likely to occur for non-migrants. At the same time, as gender plays an important role in opportunities for intermarriage, the effects of migration likely vary according to intersections of race and gender. An examination of the data on marital unions from the 2009 Brazilian National Household Survey, which includes large numbers of earlier cohorts of mass migration, demonstrates the influence of migration on interracial marriage. This study finds that the effect of migration on the odds of being interracially married (in comparison with being in a same-race marital union) vary according to the race and gender of the spouse. This study is one of the first to tie together two demographic phenomena—migration and interracial marriage—that have not previously been examined in the Brazilian context. It also provides a new lens through which to understand interracial marriage in Brazil and has implications for future studies of family formation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Liquid migration revisited: Reflections on Brazilian mobilities to Australia

AbstractThis paper discusses whether liquid migration, a framework developed to theorise recent patterns of intra‐European migration, is a suitable lens to analyse contemporary migration in other regions of the Western world. It does so by drawing on findings from ethnographic research conducted on the Brazilian migration to Australia, a recent migration wave whose patterns are embedded in a transformed migration context and paradigm. The reflections suggest that, notwithstanding a few differences and nuances inherent to the migration regime in question, the original framing of liquid migration is helpful to analyse and understand contemporary patterns of Brazilian migration to Australia. The contributions of this paper include a reframing of the original dimensions of liquid migration based on contemporary migration patterns to Australia. Based on the Australian case, this paper proposes a new dimension of liquid migration—namely, fluid visa journeys—which addresses some of the critiques of the original formulation of the concept. Finally, this paper argues that the fluidity of contemporary migration patterns to Australia is not a condition migrants pursue willingly, but rather one they are ‘trapped into’.

Researching hard-to-reach populations: lessons learned from dispersed migrant communities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues in studying hard-to-reach or dispersed populations, with particular focus on methodologies used to collect data and to investigate dispersed migrant entrepreneurs, illustrating shortcomings, pitfalls and potentials of accessing and disseminating research to hard-to-reach populations of migrant entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methodology is proposed to access hard-to-reach or dispersed populations, and this paper explores these using a sample of Brazilian migrants settled in different countries of the world.FindingsThis paper explores empirical challenges, illustrating shortcomings, pitfalls and potentials of accessing and disseminating research to hard-to-reach populations of migrant entrepreneurs. It provides insights by reporting research experiences developed over time by this group of researchers, reflecting a “mixing” of methods for accessing respondents, contrasting to a more rigid, a-priori, mixed methods approach.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this paper is to showcase experiences from, and suitability of, remote data collection, especially for projects that cannot accommodate the physical participation of researchers, either because of time or cost constraints. It reports on researching migrant entrepreneurship overseas. Remote digital tools and online data collection are highly relevant due to time- and cost-efficiency, but also represent solutions for researching dispersed populations. These approaches presented allow for overcoming several barriers to data collection and present instrumental characteristics for migrant research.

Migration and education on social media: what migrants discuss about education in Facebook groups.

Drawing from a networked perspective of migration and from the concept of "transnational education," this paper investigates the education-related topics discussed in Facebook groups among Brazilian migrants in Germany. The paper examines the "latent ties" activated in migrant Facebook groups as part of networks that can be used to collect information about migratory pathways involving educational opportunities. A qualitative content analysis was conducted with 2.297 posts retrieved from six Facebook groups divided into location, vocational education and training (VET), and professional groups. The outcomes point out that there is a demand for transnational education beyond university degrees. Additionally, the paper highlights that latent ties can be used to collect and cross-check information in migratory contexts involving education.

A Rigth to Learn, A Right to Belong: Education's Impact on Immigrant Citizenship in Brazil

The Law 13.445, from May 24, 2017, postulated Brazilian migration policy and presents equal opportunities for the nation’s citizens and migrants. The article 4, X, establishes the right to public education, prohibiting discrimination based on nationality or migratory status. According to the Federal Constitution (1988), education has three purposes: fostering the complete development of the individual, preparing them for active citizenship, and equipping them with skills for employment. This article aims to explore how these three purposes consist in providing quality education for immigrants, thereby strengthening their citizenship in Brazil. The methodology involved conducting a bibliographic review of relevant literature and analyzing relevant legislation.

Navigating Migration Regimes Together: The Journeys of Brazilian Couples in Auckland, Gold Coast and Perth

ABSTRACT This article builds on data collected as a part of two research projects to provide a comparative study on the migration journeys of young Brazilian couples in Auckland (New Zealand), the Gold Coast and Perth (Australia). We employ the theoretical lens of multi-stage migration to explore how Brazilian migrant couples plan and pursue journeys across different visa statuses to transition through less precarious forms of migration. Findings suggest that they often plan and pursue their journeys together and that their decision to migrate to Australia and New Zealand is linked to the pathways provided by these countries for more secure forms of migration and visa status. The comparative perspective shows that the trajectories of Brazilian migrants in New Zealand are different to the journeys of Brazilians in Australia in relation to the most protracted stage of their visa journeys. The strategies pursued by Brazilian couples to transit to a less precarious migration status are also particular to each of these countries. This article contributes to the sociological literature on multi-stage migration by emphasising how migrants enact collective agency and navigate restrictive migration regimes together as couples, pursuing joint migration strategies that depend on the maintenance of the relationship.

Brazilians in Dongguan: Migration Across Analogous Industrial Clusters and (Re)creation of Homeland Abroad

ABSTRACT This article explores a case of international migration across analogous industrial clusters (IMAAIC), a form of skilled migration largely linked to South-South migration flows. Using the migration from Southern Brazil to Dongguan, China as the unit of analysis, this article presents an ethnographic account based on documental research and participant observation data collected between 2017 and 2021. The findings map the origins of this migration wave and report on the collective homemaking practices of this community in China. The article discusses three characteristics of the Brazilian migration to Dongguan – namely peripheral, narrow, and contingent – and argues that these elements have constitutive effects on the community's social experiences of homemaking in China, particularly by intensifying practices of (re)creation of homeland abroad. This article contributes to the field of Brazilian diasporic research and South-South migration by reporting on an unexplored migrant community. It also proposes that international migration across analogous industrial clusters is a transnational phenomenon that requires further conceptualisation and study.

Emotional Encounters During Fieldwork: Researching Brazilian Women Migrants as a Brazilian Women Researcher

This paper addresses the ethical implications of doing qualitative research among migrant women while being a migrant woman researcher myself. Brennan (2014)’s affective turn shows us how affect (both positive and negative) irradiates powerfully between one subject and another; while Ahmed (2010) reminds us that our affective situation may shape what/how we will feel. Based on experiences and reflections, since my PhD in 2008, on Brazilian migrants’ experiences in Portugal, I borrow Teresa Brennan’s concepts of affect and Sara Ahmed’s notion of emotion to look at how our encounters throughout our fieldwork with migrant women affect our bodies and vice versa. Moving away from the insider/outsider dichotomy, I argue that our knowledge production practice with migrant women is a reciprocal emotional reaction, surrounded by inequality power dynamics, which entails a set of ethical implications when translating these emotional reactions as research outputs.

Rotas para o Primeiro Mundo: Jornadas migratórias brasileiras após os ataques de 11 de setembro

Abstract This paper examines how Brazilians remodeled their international migration routes to the “First World” after the September 11 attacks. It explores the connections between the temporary suspension of Brazilian migration to the United States and the rise of the United Kingdom as the main destination. To shed light on the production of new routes by Brazilians, the paper unfolds personal migration journeys performed to overcome border controls set by the UK. The empirical data at the basis of this article come from a broadly qualitative, ethnographic approach, which comprised multi-sited fieldwork in the UK and Brazil, and two sets of oral histories conducted with migrants, travel agents, and returned migrants between 2010 and 2016. Based on these sources, the article shows how migrants developed tactical border crossing movements to negotiate with institutions and structures of power that control and constrain their movements with threats.

Social media and migrants’ perceptions: Portugal as a potential host country for Brazilian workers

Social media use is increasingly affecting the various stages preceding the decision to emigrate, including the selection of final destination. Future migrants meaningfully use ICT to connect with those workers who are already living abroad, as a result more accurate perceptions of host societies are emerging through peers’ experiences. This study evaluates the specific role played by YouTube in the way Brazilians are creating their mental images of Portugal. A sample of 135 YouTube videos were analyzed, in which Brazilian emigrants share their testimonies of adaptation to the Portuguese reality. The conclusions point out to a mismatch between the low skills’ jobs, locally available in the Portuguese labor market, and the higher qualification profile of many Brazilian workers who moved to Portugal. If expectations must be reduced in terms of economic prosperity, there is a consensus regarding a higher quality of life, in a broader sense, experienced by Brazilian migrants after their decision to live and work in Portugal. Based on the specific results of this study it possible to highlight some consensus among the testimonies analyzed which, for that reason, assume a non-negligible importance in the perceptions about Portugal that are being structured by potential Brazilian migrants, also due to the high number of views and shares these videos receive. These points of consensus deserve reflection by those who study migrations and define policy guidelines on migratory processes, especially in a country whose government has assumed the importance of immigration as a way to mitigate the effects of the alarming demographic ageing of the Portuguese society. Among these points of consensus are the warnings about the initial difficulties of integration into the labor market and the need to accept job offers that do not match the qualification profiles and professional skills developed in Brazil. There is also a warning about the need to reduce expectations regarding an eventual ambition of a substantial improvement of the financial conditions of these migrants. Although such difficulties do not condition an evident progress in terms of comfort and quality of life, which ends up providing a general satisfaction among Brazilians who decided to choose Portugal as their emigration destination.

“You’re Better Being Poor Here”: Migration Decision-Making and Political and Lifestyle Considerations Among Qualified Brazilians in Portugal

This article looks at the migration of qualified Brazilians to Portugal, with reference to the impact of political developments in Brazil on migration decision-making processes and their lifestyle aspirations in the host society. Original fieldwork consists of twenty in-depth interviews conducted with qualified Brazilians in the Lisbon area during 2019. These interviews illustrate how political and economic instability in Brazil contributed to establishing a strong migration imperative. In this scenario, Portugal is chosen as a destination due to its perceived social stability and emergence as a fashionable destination for skilled workers, with the promise of a “cosmopolitan” life. In conclusion, we emphasise the need to consider how political conditions in a sending society and lifestyle considerations interact in the migration decision-making of skilled migrants. This approach confronts assumptions that serve to disguise the precariousness of many Brazilian migrants in Portugal due to their relatively high skill levels and raising long-term concerns regarding the sustainability of lifestyle-oriented migration.