Current patterns of immigration
- Increased migration between Brazil and its neighbouring countries, especially Mercosur members, but also Chile and the Andean states
- Influx of migrants from Haiti and increasingly from African countries using Ecuador and Chile as transit countries
- A rise in the number of international labour migrants attracted by the construction industry for the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics
- Strong and continuing internal migration especially from the northeast to the cities of the southeast
Current patterns of emigration
- Net migration loss of half a million in each of the four-year periods 2000-4 and 2005-9, slowed to 190,000 between 2010-2014
- Slowing down of emigration of lower skilled economic migrants to the USA
Changes in immigration over time
- During late 19th and 20th century, European migrants (especially Germans and Italians) were attracted to work in agricultural sector, especially coffee cultivation
- Economic migrants from Paraguay and Argentina consistent
- Political crises at various times have led to migrations from Bolivia, Angola and Lebanon
- Immigration has slowed in the last fifteen years, there are 80,000 fewer immigrants living in Brazil than at the start of the century
Changes in emigration over time
- Emigration has increased over the last 15 years
- In 2013, 1.77 million Brazilians lived abroad compared with 0.98 million in 2000
- The US has Brazil’s. largest population overseas, mainly for economic reasons
- Many Brazilians of Japanese descent (having strong cultural links), have emigrated to Japan, encouraged by the employment opportunities
Examples of interdependence with Portugal
Political - Brazil was a former Portuguese colony, today the Portuguese government still gives special status to Brazilian migrants
Economic - Portugal has become a gateway for entry into the EU, migrant remittances are an important economic factor for many families
Social - Shared language, ancestry and family ties contribute to the ease with which migrants in both countries can be integrated, reciprocal migration supported by the well-developed social diaspora networks in both countries
Examples of interdependence with the USA
Economic - Many thousands of low-skilled, Brazilian economic migrants working in the USA are able to remit significant amounts of money, returning migrants (having acquired skills and knowledge) are able to contribute to Brazilian development, highly skilled Brazilians are increasingly finding opportunities to work in the USA, especially in the service sector
Environmental - USAID gives support to Brazil in many environmental projects, range from practical help such as training Xavante indigenous people to protect their tribal lands from forest fire, to assisting the Brazilian government in designing and implementing laws concerning forest governance and sustainable forest management
Examples of interdependence with Haiti
Political - National Immigration Council for Brazil enables Haitian immigrants to obtain visas relatively easily in Haiti, thereby reducing their vulnerability to trafficking networks, number of Haitian immigrants is continuously rising as they attempt to escape the political instability, unemployment, poor access to education and the country’s appalling human rights’ record, especially gender-based violence
Humanitarian - This support is of great benefit to Haitians who have found it difficult to recover from the devastating earthquake of 2010, which displaced 1.5 million, and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the number of immigrants grew from 1681 in 2010 to 11,072 in 2013
Economic - Many Haitian immigrants intend to join friends and relatives in the southeast of Brazil, where low-skilled jobs are available in agriculture and the factories of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina
Impacts of migration on economic development
- Waves of immigration in different periods, from Japan, Portugal and other European countries have contributed to the growth in agriculture and manufacturing sectors
- Recent arrivals of highly skilled professionals with employment contracts have contributed to entrepreneurship, innovation and reducing gaps in the labour market
- Emigration to the USA, Japan, Portugal and other European counties has resulted in migrant remittances to Brazil, used by families in housing improvements, education and general consumption, which has contributed to development at all scales (US$2.4 billion in 2014, 0.1% of GDP)
Impacts of migration on political stability
- Brazil has a stable and democratic political system, it is also a leading member of Mercosur, an important member of G20 and OECD, and is one of the BRICS group of emerging economies
- Membership of Mercosur (primarily a trading bloc in which there is free flow of trade, capital and labour migration) has helped South American integration and the promotion of political stability
- There are stable political relationships between Brazil and the countries with which it has significant bilateral-lateral migrant flows, especially USA, Japan and Portugal
- Brazil is an important recover of environmental and political refugees and as a stable government accepts responsibility for their welfare and employment prospects by providing visas and work permits
Impacts of migration on social equality
- According to UNESCO, there are inequalities in Brazilian society between different ethnic groups, inequalities exist in housing provision, access to services, educational attainment and income, Brazilians of African descent are most affected
- Inequalities have a spatial perspective with poverty concentrated in rural areas, or in the favelas to which the poor migrate
- There is prejudice and discrimination in the labour market, especially against black and indigenous populations, and this impedes their full economic, political and social development
