The cases Zulmira Cardoso And Brayan Capcha: Political mobilization and migrant integration in Brazil

Author(s)

Augusto Veloso Leão ^[1] ; Peter Robert Demant ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

^[2] Universidade de São Paulo - Brasil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais; v. 31, n. 91 2016-06-10.

Abstract

This article means to debate the issue of migrant’s human rights and suggests a reflection about migrant’s social mobilization and the importance of guaranteeing rights to this population as a strategy to assist migrants’ integration to a host society, not only through means of a moral justification for universal rights, but also with practical arguments supporting the integration process. We explore migrants’ protests in 2012 and 2013, following the deaths of two migrants, victims of urban violence in São Paulo, Zulmira Cardoso e Brayan Capcha. The present Brazilian migration law (Law n. 6815/1980) prevents migrants to take part in any way in activities with a political nature. As a consequence, protests are extremely rare and are usually organized by Brazilian organisations that defend migrants’ rights. This article analyses the migrants’ social mobilization cases and searches for a bridge between the ways this mobilization was organised, the lack of political rights for migrants and the issue of migrants’ social esteem in the eyes of Brazilian society. With this information, we examine the impact of such mobilization to the integration process of migrants groups and debate the effects of the recognition of rights and the construction of a positive social esteem to migrants in their integration. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/20518-4 - Migrants' human rights and integration public policies in contemporary democracies
• Grantee: Augusto Veloso Leão
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate