CIES e-WORKING PAPER N° 12/2006 BrazilianMigration to Portugal: Social etworks andEthnic Solidarity BEATRIZ PADILLA CIES e-Working Papers (ISSN 1647-0893) Av. das Forças Armadas, Edifício ISCTE, 1649-026 LISBOA, PORTUGAL,
[email protected] Beatriz Padilla holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES-ISCTE), Lisbon. Her research interests are on trans-Atlantic migrations, gender studies, social movements and research methods. Email:
[email protected] Abstract This paper describes the flux of Brazilian newcomers to Portugal. It focuses on the type of interactions and social networks they make use of, in both the country of origin and destination, in order to find housing and work and build support. It also looks at gender differences in the use of networks, and explores the issue of ethnic solidarity in social relations among Brazilians migrants. This work is based on more than 40 in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Lisbon and Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil). Keywords : migration, social networks, ethnic solidarity, reciprocity, Brazilians, Portugal Resumo O artigo descreve a nova vaga de imigrantes brasileiros em Portugal. Centra-se no tipo de interacções e redes sociais utilizadas pelos brasileiros tanto no país de origem como no destino, para encontrar moradia e emprego e na construção dum sistema de apoio. Considera também as diferenças de género na utilização das redes e explora a solidariedade étnica nas relações entre brasileiros migrantes. O trabalho baseia-se em mais de 40 entrevistas em profundidade e no trabalho etnográfico desenvolvido em Lisboa e no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, no Brasil.