A Middle Class Besieged: Brazilians’ Motives to Migrate

Abstract

ResúmenUsando material etnográfico coletado durante minha pesquisa entre imigrantes brasileiros em Lisboa, exploro nesse artigo como a migração internacional se tornou uma das alternativas usadas por pessoas jovens da classe média para manter sua posição de classe. Analizo o papel da crise brasileira das décadas de 80 e 90 na decisão que muitos tomaram de migrar e afirmo que além da situação de privação econômica relativa, muitos brasileiros da classe média se sentiam alienados do seu país uma vez que a promessa do processo de modernidade nunca foi cumprida. Muitos acreditavam que não tinham nada a perder ao sair do seu país.

The World Has Become More Selfish: Remembering a New Past in the West Indies

“…If unity and extensive sharing are conceived as the norm of the past, then those who achieved success beyond the norm would have had an obligation to help others to do the same. One is reminded of Torresan's () mismatch between hope and reality, but, in this case, it is the ephemerality of the status of a realised achievement rather than an unsatisfied ambition for achievement which is the cause of frustration. In a climate of rising expectations, there is no level at which one can rest or can be assured that he or she has ‘made it’.…”

“…Even as standards of living rise, inequalities become more pronounced. A mismatch between hope and reality can cause profound dissatisfaction (Torresan, ). Memories of a golden age in whose glow the present appears as a tarnished shadow are not confined to the elderly, who themselves experienced the past, and take surprisingly little time to develop.…”

The second Brazilian migration wave: The impact of Brazil’s economic and social changes on current migration to the UK.

“…Before the 2000s most Brazilian migrants were portrayed as young, male, middle-class and predominantly from southern and southeastern states -the richest parts of the country. After 2000, migration from the less privileged central and northeastern regions started to increase as well as the numbers of working-class Brazilian migrants (Ribeiro, 1998;Martes, 2011;Torresan, 2012). Attempting to explain the reasons behind the transformation in the profile and volume of Brazilians abroad, the literature suggests that the massive flow of Brazilians during the first Brazilian migration wave (1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990) produced migrant pioneers who settled in the host societies and soon developed social and economic structures that provided support for the less well-off migrants to move and be accommodated in the host society (Siqueira, 2009;Kubal, et al 2011).…”

Discutir saúde e imigração no contexto atual de intensa mobilidade humana

“…Desta vez, são os brasileiros que decidem emigrar em busca de uma vida melhor e da ascensão social que lhes é negada pela situação no Brasil. Assim, milhares de brasileiros partem para trabalhar nos países do Norte, nomeadamente EUA [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] , mas, também, na Europa, especialmente em Portugal e Suíça [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] .…”