Transnationalism and the Brazilian Diaspora

1. Encontro dos Bolsistas
do Programa CSF
Alvaro Lima, Abril 2015
Transnational
Communities- not your grandfather’s diaspora -

2. Traditional Understanding – The Migration Flow
ADMISSION:
Who? How many?
What kind?

3. poverty
stagnation
overpopulation
etc…
Traditional Understanding – The Migration Flow
WHY?

4. Country
Total
Population
(millions)
Population
from
Developing
Countries
(millions)
Percent of
Total
Population
Top Five
Source
Countries
(percent of
total)
Top Five Source
Countries
United States
Spain
France
UK
Netherlands
Portugal
Japan
281.4
40.8
58.5
58.8
16.0
10.4
127
28.4
1.5
3.7
3.0
1.2
0.5
1.2
10.1
3.7
6.4
5.1
7.6
4.5
1.0
45.2
44.2
20.4
30.1
48.6
62.8
69.6
Mexico, Philippines, Puerto
Rico, India, China
Morocco, Ecuador,
Colombia, Argentina,
Venezuela
Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia,
Turkey, Vietnam
India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Jamaica,
South Africa
Suriname, Turkey,
Indonesia, Morocco,
Netherlands Antilles
Angola, Mozambique,
Brazil, Cape Verde,
Venezuela
North Korea, South Korea,
China, Brazil, Philippines
Foreign-Born Population of Rich OECD Countries from Developing Countries
Source: Let Their People Come, Lant Pritchett, 2006

5. labor market
housing
education
etc…
Traditional Understanding – The Settlement
ESOL
entrepreneurship

6. New Understand - Immigrant Transnationalism

7. Drivers of Transnationalism
 Developments in the means of transportation and
communications have changed the relations between people
and places (costs);
 International migrations have become crucial to the
demographic future of many developed countries;
 Global political transformations and new international legal
regimes weakened the state as the only legitimate source of
rights;
 Fostered by global consumption, global production, and
immigration, cultural hybridization are substituting folkloric
romanticism and political nationalism enshrined as essences
of national cultures;

8. Transnational
platforms
New Possibilities – Transnational Platforms
Transnational
platforms

9. $875
$398
$331
$218
$-
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
Brazil
Ecuador
México
Guatemala
Guyana
Dominican R.
Colombia
Nicaragua
El Salvador
Honduras
Cuba
Monthly Remittance by Nationality
$278 $274
$192 $188 $185 $177
$113
ABOVE AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
AVERAGE = $294
45.4%
20.5%
17.8%
5.1% 4.9% 3.7%
1.6% 0.8% 0.2%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
Foods and spices
Videos, DVDs, CDs
Clothing
Newspapers/magazines
Books
Alcohol
Cigarettes
Craft Items
Others
Purchasing of Nostalgic Products Among Brazilians
37.6%
28.9%
26.0%
5.5%
1.6%
0.3%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
Does not
have / NR
Checking
account
Savings
account
Credit card Investment
account
Foreign
currency
savings
Financial Accounts in Country of Origin - Brazil
MEASURING
TRANSNATIONALIS
M

10. 46.6%
36.80%
27.0%
22.7%
20.0%
15.3%
14.0%
10.3%
9.1%
5.7%
3.7%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
Guyana
Brazil
Ecuador
Honduras
Colombia
Nicaragua
Dominican R.
México
Cuba
El Salvador
Guatemala
Help Beyond Remittances
AVERAGE = 19.2%
ABOVE AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
10
26.3%
12.4%
10.0%
6.7%
5.0%
4.0% 3.5% 3.3% 2.8% 2.4%
0.0%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
Guyana
Brazil
Ecuador
Honduras
Colom
bia
Nicaragua
Mexico
Dom
inican
R.
Guatem
ala
El Salvador
Cuba
Support of Hometown Associations
AVERAGE = 6.7%
ABOVE AVERAGE
BELOW AVERAGE
MEASURING
TRANSNATIONALIS
M

11. MEASURING
TRANSNATIONALIS
M

12. Some Implications of Transnationalism
 Portability becomes crucial for transnational migrants –
education and certification processes; investment and
retirement schemes, health insurance, etc.;
 The concept of “community,” “society,” as well as
“the local,” must be redefined as space of flows
(relationships), pluri-local and nation-state-boarder
spanning, instead of bounded geographic places –
geographic and social container spaces;
 Transnational immigrant entrepreneurs’ contributions to the economy have to be
recognized as such and not as just “ethnic;”
 Nation-state ideals of identity in both sending and receiving countries are challenged
by transnational practices – double citizenship, transnational rights, regimens, etc…;
 States must re-conceive immigration and adapt their policies and practices to
accommodate transnational realities;

13. First Generation Innovation Portfolio
 Digaai.com
 Transnational Index
 Diaspora Capital Services
 Educational Delivery & Partnership Models
 Health Care Management & Insurance Provision
 Social Security
 Political Representation

14. http://exaptive.com/
Data
visualization of
Brazilian
Immigrant
newspapers