Nodes o inclusion
and exclusion:
media, con ex
and he shaping
o con empo a y
mo emen s ac oss
he A lan ic
Ma a Vila Rosales
7.
162 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
in oduc ion
This chap e is based on a compa a i e e hnog aphic esea ch p ojec 1
add essing he mig a ion mo emen s ac oss he A lan ic be ween ou ci ies
(Rio de Janei o, São Paulo, Lisbon and Po o), om 2011 o 2015, and hei
in e sec ions wi h he mo emen s o hings (Appadu ai 1988) ac oss he same
ou es. The p ojec examined all ou ci ies as bo h si es o depa u e and
des ina ion. This heo e ical and me hodological op ion aspi ed o challenge
he dominan assump ions conce ning powe ela ionships and hei impac
on mig a ion ends be ween Sou h Ame ican and Eu opean coun ies, in
gene al; and simul aneously ackle p esen day pos -colonial ela ionships
be ween Po ugal and B azil, in pa icula . The mo emen s o people and
hings we e explo ed a h ee le els o analysis. The i s (mac o) aimed a
iden i ying and con ex ualising he majo lines ha de ine and delimi hese
mo emen s be ween he ou ci ies, explo ing how and o wha ex en hey
eed, compe e and/o complemen each o he . The second (mezzo) in es iga ed
he speci ici ies o each ci y as poin o a i al and depa u e. Thi dly (mic o),
he impac o mo emen on iden i y and belonging was looked in o h ough
he analysis o domes ic ma e ial cul u e and consump ion p ac ices.
This chap e will only ocus on a e y speci ic dimension o he A lan ic
ansi s explo ed in he esea ch p ojec . I will examine he ole o he media
in gene al, and o social media in pa icula , in gene a ing and dissemina ing
in o ma ion and knowledge p oduced by Po uguese and B azilian media
co po a ions (majo newspape s and news agencies). How his in o ma ion
and knowledge has con ibu ed o shape and p omo e hese ou ci ies as
a ac i e se ling loca ions o signi ican con ingen s o he Po uguese and
B azilian middle classes will hen be analysed.
mig a ion in he age o global ci cula ion
The ci cula ion o hings, images, money, knowledge, media, in o ma ion and,
in pa icula , people is one o he mos isible a eas o inqui y in he social
sciences. F om examina ions o ansna ionalism and cosmopoli anism o
1 A lan ic c ossings: ma e iali y, con empo a y mo emen s and policies o belonging. Resea ch P ojec
unded by c (p dc/cs-an /119803/2010).
con empo a y mo emen s ac oss he a lan ic 163
ecen heo ies o mobili y, social sciences con inue o de o e special a en ion
o he impac o human mo emen bo h in p esen day subjec i e expe ience
and social ins i u ions, as well as on how subjec s and ins i u ions de elop
s a egies o ame, con ol and make sense o i . The emphasis on mig a ion,
and on i s causes and impac , is pa ially he esul o he ac ha p esen
day human mobili y, bo h in in e na ional and na ional scales is, acco ding
o he Uni ed Na ions2, a i s highes le els in eco ded human his o y. This
si ua ion has p omp ed he public deba e o he heme, as well as poli ical,
economic and social esponses, which y o cap u e, ca ego ise and o de he
inc easing di e si y o ou es, scales, empo ali ies and in ensi ies o human
mo ion. Hence, and e en i s asis is by a he mos egula expe ience in he
li e o he g ea majo i y o he wo ld popula ion, schola s ha e esponded o
his new pic u e and a e wo king o iden i y al e na i e app oaches o add ess
mo ion and i s (ex a) o dina y e ec s on con empo a y collec i e li e.
Social heo y p esen s us oday wi h an ex ensi e collec ion o concep s o
cap u e and desc ibe “ hose on he mo e”, which s and as possible al e na i es
o he classical concep o “ he mig an ”.3 Howe e , and despi e he e m in use,
all mig an s (and a elle s, expa ia es o cosmopoli ans) and hei aspi a ions,
belie s and p ac ices in eg a e a ious spa ial ne wo ks and empo al linkages.
This ac unde lines he complexi y o con empo a y mig a ions’ mul iple laye s
and dimensions, and d aws a en ion o he impo ance o he speci ici ies
(Mo ley 2002) en ailed in each pa icula expe ience. In eali y, all mig a ions
a e g ounded on de ails wi h e e ence o: who a els and who s ays; when,
how and in wha ci cums ances does he i s jou ney occu , as well as he
o he s who ollow and o s ay; wha his o ic, economic, poli ical and cul u al
condi ions ma k he spaces c ossed and he ajec o ies a elled; wha is he
impac o he jou ney o e ime on pe sonal biog aphies; and how a e new and
old ela ionships and ne wo ks cha ac e ised, along wi h he managing and
displaying o belonging and a ec ion.
The “ ansna ional u n” (Ve o ec 2007) in oduced signi ican changes
in he deba e abou he a icula ion o hese se e al dimensions o mig a ion.
2 Rio+20 (2012) – Uni ed Na ions Con e ence on sus ainable de elopmen .
3 The Uni ed Na ions Mig a ion Agency, he In e na ional O ganisa ion o Mig a ion, de ines a
mig an as any pe son who is mo ing o has mo ed ac oss an in e na ional bo de o wi hin a S a e
away om hei habi ual place o esidence, ega dless o (1) he pe son’s legal s a us; (2) whe he he
mo emen is olun a y o in olun a y; (3) wha he causes o he mo emen a e; o (4) wha he leng h
o he s ay is.
164 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
I d ew a en ion o he ac ha mos mig an s main ain and manage hei
li es in spaces ha go beyond na ional bo de s (Glick Schille 1995), and o
he impo ance o including wi hin he analy ical amewo k how ins i u ions
and s a es inco po a e hese mo emen s and ela ions in o de o con ol and
manage hem. Family and amily ies eme ged as especially signi ican in he
s uc u ing o ansna ional ne wo ks and ela ions. T ansna ionalism d ew
esea ch away om app oaches po aying hose who mig a ed as passi e
eac o s o he con ex s and e en s ha amed hei jou neys, p omo ing
an al e na i e esea ch agenda ocused on mig a ion expe iences (Rosales
2017). Nowadays, in ac , a ious au ho s equen ly ocus on cen al aspec s
o hese expe iences and, pa icula ly, on he impo ance o explo ing he
disconnec ions be ween he idealised, and o en sha ed, plans and expec a ions
e e y mig a ion expe ience in ol es om he e y beginning, and he
subjec i e and objec i e condi ions ha hose who mo e and hose who s ay
ac ually expe ience. Tackling and compa ing he mig an ’s imagined s a es
and expec a ions wi h he na a i es and obse a ions o hei daily ou ines,
pe cep ions and posi ioning s a egies (Rosales 2012) became, he e o e, a
c ucial opic o analysis. I gene a ed p oduc i e lenses o explo e p esen day
mul iple o ms o mo emen as cul u al and social p ocesses. Hence, mig a ion
is inc easingly add essed h ough eligion, ma e ial cul u e, media, ood and
many o he subjec ma e s, whose in e sec ions wi h human mo emen s a e
decisi e in i s unde s anding, besides p omo ing dialogue be ween ci cula ion
and s illness in con empo a y socie ies.
The ela ionship be ween mo ion and s asis con inues o challenge his
ield o s udy. Mo emen , and especially ansna ional mo emen , is a om
being unp oblema ic in con empo a y socie ies. In ac , and in spi e o he
cu en in ensi ica ion and globalisa ion o human ci cula ion, mos o he
wo ld’s popula ion li es all hei li e in a ela i ely ixed and ecognisable
e i o y (Mo ley 2002). Fo many people, mo eo e , he possibili y o mo ing
con inues o be impossible; while o o he s, i has become less necessa y
due o de elopmen s in ic echnologies and in as uc u es. Ci cula ion,
he e o e, needs o be seen wi hin a ame ha is b oad enough o include, no
only ansience and mo ion, bu also all he mo e s able and s a ic dimensions
o communal li e.
A signi ican numbe o heo e ical con ibu ions ha e been consis en ly
highligh ing he cen ali y o communi y, kinship, esidence and all o he
mo e o less s able o ms o a ilia ion and belonging (Po zano ić F yman
con empo a y mo emen s ac oss he a lan ic 165
2015; Fo ie 2000 and Ga dne 2002) in mig a ion con ex s. This end
has p o ed o be p oduc i e in in eg a ing human mobili y in a pic u e ha
anscends mo emen i sel and is big enough o e ocus he discussion on he
main s uc u es shaping social li e and how hey eac , adjus and inco po a e
he inc easingly complex eali y o p esen day ci cula ion.
con empo a y a lan ic c ossings be ween
po ugal and b azil
The i s s age o A lan ic C ossings’ ieldwo k was o in e iew 100 people who
had mig a ed o and om one o he ou ci ies he esea ch was based on;
while he second s age ca ied ou pa icipan obse a ion wi h 5 amilies in
each se ing. The g oups o esponden s om he wo B azilian ci ies we e
mainly composed o skilled young Po uguese p o essionals, hal o hem
ma ied and wi h young child en. Mos o hese indi iduals had been o
B azil be o e mig a ion, as s uden s and/o ou is s, and claimed o know he
coun y in gene al, and he ci y hey choose o se le in ela i ely well. Fo
all o hem, mig a ion was a new expe ience, in he sense ha unlike many
o hei co-ci izens who had mig a ed o B azil in p e ious mig a ion wa es,
hei amilies did no ha e any p io mig a ion expe ience.
The Po uguese amilies depic hei mig a ion o he wo B azilian ci ies
as a decision esul ing om choice a he han om need. In ac , mos subjec s
esis being de ined as mig an s and p e e o use e ms such as expa , o eigne
o a elle o de ine hei s a us in B azil. Lea ing one’s coun y o o igin is,
in hei iew, an en iching li e expe ience and/o a signi ican s age in hei
ansi ion om you h o adul hood. In ac , all subjec s conside mo emen ,
i. e. he abili y o being mobile, an impo an , almos impe a i e, li e dimension
o oday’s global eali y. Mig a ion, and especially economic mig a ion, howe e ,
is no e alua ed he same way. This is why all subjec s d aw a clea di iding
line be ween hem and hei social posi ion in Rio de Janei o and São Paulo
socie y oday, and he o he Po uguese mig an s who a i ed in B azil many
yea s ago o, acco ding o hem, escape po e y. A simila s ance is exp essed
conce ning all o he mig an s o igina ing bo h om o he non-Eu opean and
non-No h Ame ican loca ions. This dominan pe cep ion is u he ein o ced
by a second, which pic u es hei mobili y expe ience as a highly in es ed and
planned ad en u e, he e o e esul ing only om hei agency.

166 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
Howe e , i mo emen is s a egically o ganised and p epa ed, and i s
ou comes ca e ully calcula ed and con olled, i can also be desc ibed as a
p e en i e mechanism o escape downwa d mobili y, p eca iousness and
ma e ial loss. The economic c isis he coun y has been acing since 2008
was a majo opic o conce n o all amilies, e en i none o hem was, in
hei wo ds, expe iencing eal di icul ies a he ime hey decided o mig a e.
This aspec in oduces a conse a i e no e in how mig a ion is pic u ed and
expe ienced by mos subjec s in he g oup, which is o en con eyed in he
sen ence: I decided o lea e Po ugal be o e some hing bad happened o me o
my amily.
The second g oup o subjec s, wi hin he i s s age o esea ch, c ossed
he A lan ic in he opposi e di ec ion om he i s g oup and se led in
Lisbon and Po o. Like he i s , his g oup is mos ly made up o young skilled
wo ke s and pos -g adua e s uden s who choose a Po uguese uni e si y o
con inue hei s udies. Howe e , and in clea con as wi h he i s g oup, he
subjec s coming om B azil openly claim o be mig an s in Po ugal, e en i
hei mig an condi ion is, in some cases, nuanced by di e se explana ions. In
ac , some o he subjec s explici ly s essed ha , in hei own wo ds, being a
mig an in Po ugal is a empo a y condi ion since hey we e planning o apply
o ci izenship, and o he s a gued ha hey li ed in cons an ansi be ween
B azil and Po ugal, which made hem somewha di e en om egula
B azilian mig an s. Like he i s g oup, hese subjec s also ca e ully planned
hei mig a ion, wi h high in es men in hei ajec o ies. This is especially
e iden in he cases o hose who came o wo k in Lisbon and Po o, bu also
wi h hose who ha e mig a ed o con inue hei s udies. All subjec s said hey
had ca e ully ga he ed a la ge amoun o in o ma ion abou Po ugal and he
Po uguese legal sys em, as well as abou Lisbon and Po o as places o li e. All
o hem claimed o ha e a good knowledge o he coun y and i s ins i u ions,
e en i his was hei i s expe ience in Po ugal o mos .
The ac ha bo h g oups said hey had ca e ully planned hei jou ney o
he B azilian and Po uguese ci ies highligh ed he po en ial signi icance o
he media in con empo a y mig a ion expe iences, as bo h a esea ch ield
o ga he in o ma ion abou key aspec s o e e yday li e ab oad and as an
ins umen o e alua ing he possibili y o pa icula places mee ing pe sonal
aspi a ions and allowing p esen and u u e goals o be accomplished. Media
analysis also p o ed impo an in explo ing a second dimension di ec ly
ela ed o he i s : eeding p ospec i e mig an imagina ion by p omo ing
con empo a y mo emen s ac oss he a lan ic 167
idealised ep esen a ions o some des ina ions and ad e se ep esen a ions o
o he s.
The esul s o he i s s age o he esea ch showed ha all subjec s ha e
used a signi ican a ie y o media o ga he in o ma ion and do esea ch on
p ospec i e des ina ions conce ning hei pe sonal mig a ion. The media was
used bo h be o e and a e a inal decision was made conce ning he coun y
and he ci y o emig a e o. E en i hese esul s a e signi ican pe se, i is
impo an o no e ha he ques ionnai e also e ealed ha subjec s con inued
o use o he e y classical sou ces o in o ma ion in mig a ion con ex s:
amily and iends. The impo ance o social ne wo ks (e. g. amily, iends,
colleagues, iends o iends) is especially isible when i comes o e alua ing
he eliabili y o he in o ma ion ga he ed. E en i media con en was ne e
conside ed non- eliable, mos subjec s explained ha i was o en compa ed
wi h ma e ial ga he ed h ough o he (also eliable) sou ces o in o ma ion.
mig a ion in he media: he po uguese and b azilian p ess
The i s s age o he esea ch p oduced ex ensi e in o ma ion ega ding
media uses. Acco ding o he da a ga he ed, mos subjec s said hey had
made use o ex ensi e sou ces o in o ma ion, such as , p in ed media,
adio and he In e ne (e. g. webpages, blogs, social media, e c.) o in es iga e
hei p ospec i e des ina ions. Acco ding o he esul s, he mos signi ican
sou ce o in o ma ion o bo h g oups was he In e ne , ollowed by p in ed
media. Howe e , when asked which si es we e consul ed, he online e sions
o he mos p ominen B azilian and Po uguese newspape s and magazines
s ood ou . This esul illus a es he signi icance o he media o bo h g oups
and con i ms he endency owa ds a conse a i e posi ion conce ning he
eliabili y o da a, which was al eady e idenced by he impo ance a ibu ed
o amily and iends as in o ma ion sou ces.
The subjec s in bo h g oups said hey we e in e es ed in a wide ange o
opics, when looking o in o ma ion in he media di ec ly ela ed o hei
des ina ion coun y and ci y. These opics anged om s uc u al aspec s,
such as he B azilian and Po uguese heal h sys ems and se ices, job ma ke s,
secu i y policies, housing, schools and school sys ems; o mo e subjec i e
ma e s, such as he a s and cul u e scenes, leisu e ac i i ies o cos o li ing,
amongs o he s.
168 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
The ac ha he in o ma ion had been p oduced and displayed by
adi ional and epu able newspape s o magazines len i , acco ding o he
subjec s, i no he same alue in e ms o c edibili y as he da a di ec ly
ob ained om iends and amily, a leas a sign o quali y and consis ency ha
mos o he o he sou ces, in hei wo ds, maybe did no o e . This was he main
eason o analyse he online e sions o p in ed newspape s and magazines,
which was no a i s included in he esea ch plan. Howe e , i s ecu en
p esence in he subjec s’ discou se abou he ou ci ies and wha hey had o
o e as mig a ion des ina ions, i. e. wo king and li ing condi ions, ecep i i y
owa ds o eign ci izens and mig an s, educa ion and heal h oppo uni ies
and cons ain s, his o ies o success and mis o une, as well as in e na ional
mig a ion in gene al, led o i .
The sample included he online edi ion o a la ge collec ion o Po uguese
and B azilian newspape s. All he jou nalism dealing wi h in e na ional
mig a ion wi h a special ocus on mig a o y ends in Po ugal and B azil,
in gene al, and on he mo emen s be ween he ou ci ies, in pa icula , we e
e ained. The ime ame analysis was, o he Po uguese p ess, om July 2013
o Sep embe 2014; and o he B azilian p ess, om Ap il 2013 o Sep embe
2014. The esea ch ga he ed a o al o 307 pieces ha we e subjec ed o con en
analysis and classi ied acco ding o hei ele ance o he p ojec . F om hese,
213 we e om Po uguese newspape s and 94 om B azilian. The sample
included bo h ee and es ic ed access p ess4 and was ep esen a i e o he
mos enowned newspape s and magazines in bo h coun ies.
The media con en analysis was based on 14 p e-de ined gene al opics,
which eme ged bo h om p elimina y in e iews wi h he subjec s and om
li e a u e esea ch.
he ma e o in e na ional mig a ion: he b azilian p ess
The mos isible opic eme ging om he news sample o B azilian p ess is no
he A lan ic C ossings o Po uguese people seeking a be e li e in B azil, bu
he Hai ian mig a ion. The low be ween Po ugal and B azil was, howe e , he
second mos signi ican heme (15) in all he B azilian p ess a icles dealing
di ec ly wi h immig a ion. These a icles a e signi ican ly di e se and deal
wi h a wide a ie y o opics, such as: he main enance o Po uguese cul u al
4 Subsc ibed access.
con empo a y mo emen s ac oss he a lan ic 169
opics po uguese media 213 (n) b azilian media 94 (n)
Mig a ion
o al
Po ./B azil
B azil/Po .
Mig a ion
o al
Po ./B azil
B azil/Po .
Flows 52 (24.4%) 9 (17.0%) 32 (16.6%) 4 (17.39%)
Illegali y 22 (10.3%) 7 (13.2%) 18 (9.38%) ———
His o ical ela ionships 6 (2.8%) 2 (3.8%) 8 (4.7%) 1 (4.34%)
Employmen (gene al) 8 (3.8%) ——— 10 (5.21%) 1 (4.34%)
p eca iousness 8 (3.8%) 3 (5.7%) 8 (4.17%) ———
en ep eneu ship 8 (3.8%) 3 (5.7%) 3 (1.56%) ———
unskilled labou 9 (4.2%) 1 (1.9%) 2 (1.04%) ———
skilled labou 42 (19.7%) 9 (17.0%) 13 (6.67%) 3 (13.04%)
emune a ion 4 (1.9%) 2 (3.8%) ——— ———
C ime 36 (16.9%) 13 (24.5%) 4 (2.08%) 2 (8.69%)
In eg a ion 17 (8.0%) 1 (1.9%) 3 (1.56%) 2 (8.69%)
Re u n mig a ion 7 (3.3%) 1 (1.9%) 1 (0.52%) ———
Economy (gene al) 7 (3.3%) 3 (5.7%) ——— ———
c isis 24 (11.3%) 4 (7.5%) 11 (5.73% 1 (4.34%)
social mobili y 1 (0.5%) 1 (1.9%) 2 (1.04% ———
emi ances 8 (3.8%) 4 (7.5%) 5 (2.6%) ———
sec o s/expo s 1 (0.5%) 1 (1.9%) ——— ———
public/p i a e ag eemen s 7 (3.3%) 3 (5.7%) 5 (2.6%) 2 (8.69%)
Cul u al cos s 1 (0.5%) 1 (1.9%) 4 (2.08) 1 (4.34%)
Cul u al e e ences 7 (3.3%) 3 (5.7%) 11 (5.73% 4 (17.39%)
Mig a ion policies 15 (7.0%) 3 (5.7%) 9 (4.69%) ———
a ac ion 26 (12.2%) 8 (15.1%) 6 (3.13%) 2 (8.69%)
con ainmen 13 (6.1%) ——— 1 (0.52%) ———
suppo ——— ——— 18 (9.38% ———
Demog aphy 24 (11.3%) 2 (3.8%) 9 (4.69%) ———
Xenophobia/disc imina ion 3 (1.56%) ———
Table 7.1 Mig a ion in Po uguese and B azilian Media