Brazilian Diaspora and the Transnational

Economy

Brazil-TodayAlvaro Lima, March 2013

Globalisation as Annihilation of Space/Shrinking of the World

“compression of our spatialand temporal worlds” (D. Harvey)

“constraints of Geography recede” (M. Waters)

NationStates

FeudalEmpires

Tribes

Globalisation

Dialectics of globalisation and localisation - glocalisation, global cities - “space ... not only homogenised (and global), but always fragmented as well. ... has not simply shrunk, but ... been transformed” (S. Kirsch)

Globalization – A Different Perspective

”Globalization [...] as the intensification of world-wide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.” (Giddens 1990, p. 64)

Traditional Understanding – The Migration Flow

ADMISSION: Who? How many?

What kind?

poverty

stagnation

overpopulation

etc…

Traditional Understanding – The Migration Flow

WHY?

CountryTotal

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

Integration policies are skeletal, ad hoc, under-funded and dominated by the ideology of assimilation – MELTING POT

labor market

housingeducation

etc…

Traditional Understanding – The Settlement

ESOL

entrepreneurship

Immigrants forge economic, social, cultural and political relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement…

New Understand - Immigrant Transnationalism

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;

Transnational platform

New Possibilities – Transnational Platform(s)

Transnational platform

$875

$398

$331

$218

$-

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

$900

Brazil

EcuadorMéxico

Guatemala

Guyana

Dominican R.

Colombia

Nicaragua

El Salvador

HondurasCuba

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, C

Ds

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 nothave / NR

Checkingaccount

Savingsaccount

Credit card Investmentaccount

Foreigncurrencysavings

Financial Accounts in Country of Origin - Brazil

MEASURING TRANSNATIONALIS

M

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%

GuyanaBrazil

Ecuador

Honduras

Colombia

Nicaragua

Dominican R.

MéxicoCuba

El Salvador

Guatemala

Help Beyond Remittances

AVERAGE = 19.2%

ABOVE AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

11

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%

GuyanaBrazil

Ecuador

Honduras

Colombia

Nicaragua

Mexico

Dominican R.

Guatemala

El Salvador

Cuba

Support of Hometown Associations

AVERAGE = 6.7%

ABOVE AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

MEASURING TRANSNATIONALIS

M

MEASURING TRANSNATIONALIS

M

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;

First Generation Innovation Portfolio

Digaai.com

 Transnational Index

Diaspora Capital Services

Educational Delivery & Partnership Models

Health Care Management & Insurance Provision

Social Security

Political Representation

itBrazil

Japan

United States

Portugal

Angola

Spain

Paraguay

Brazilian Transnational Community

Digaai Transnational Platform

capture everyday life practices

capture social practices

capture economic activity

(PHASE I)

SEARCH AGGREGATE ARCHIVE CURATE

PHASE II

DATAVERSE

…

SLIDESHARE

…

it

Brazilian Transnational Community

capture everyday life practices

capture social practices

capture economic activity

(PHASE I)

SEARCH AGGREGATE ARCHIVE CURATE

(PHASE II)

MASHUPS JOURNALING TAGGCLOUDS …

Gen

eral

Mod

el

Transnational Platform Model

WIKI

…

DATAHUB

…

DATAVERSE

…

SLIDESHARE

…