In e agency. Ins i u e N.01 AUG 2025
ISSN 2789 – 8040 1
Be ween S abili y and Vulne abili y:
Middle-Class Iden i ies in Con empo a y B azil
Lygia G. C. H yniewicz
Augus 5 h, 2025
DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17488810
In e agency. Ins i u e N.01 AUG 2025
ISSN 2789 – 8040 1
This Policy B ie discusses he cen al ole o he B azilian middle class in social
s a i ica ion and he concep ual limi a ions su ounding i s de ini ion. I analyzes he
impac o s uc u al changes in he labo ma ke and c edi policies ha s imula ed
consump ion bu ailed o ensu e long- e m s abili y. The ex c i iques simpli ied
in e p e a ions based solely on income, a guing ha he economic mobili y expe ienced
by segmen s o he B azilian popula ion did no lead o class consolida ion, bu a he
o a ulne able and uns able condi ion.
The s udy concludes ha he B azilian middle class is deeply he e ogeneous, uns able,
and con adic o y. I s bounda ies a e luid, shaped by bo h objec i e c i e ia (such as
income and educa ion) and by cul u al and symbolic pe o mances. To adequa ely
unde s and his social g oup, i is essen ial o adop a mul idimensional app oach ha
is sensi i e o local and his o ical speci ici ies.
The middle class occupies a cen al posi ion in s udies o social s a i ica ion, bo h due
o i s nume ical ele ance and i s s a egic ole in economic, poli ical, and cul u al
dynamics. Howe e , inding a de ini ion o middle class emains ma ked by pe sis en
con o e sies. This ambigui y is no me ely a echnical challenge, bu e lec s deepe
heo e ical, me hodological, and his o ical ensions.
Based on he p emise ha social class canno be educed o a single c i e ion, a ious
analy ical adi ions add ess he complexi y o he middle class. The Ma xis app oach is
explo ed h ough he concep s o ―class-in-i sel ‖ and ―class- o -i sel ,‖ while he
Webe ian adi ion in oduces he ca ego ies o class, s a us, and pa y as dis inc
dimensions o s a i ica ion. Schola s such as E ik Olin W igh and An hony Giddens
o e aluable insigh s, emphasizing espec i ely he con adic o y class loca ion o he
middle classes and he signi icance o ma ke capaci ies. Addi ionally, he wo k o
Pie e Bou dieu and Loïc Wacquan con ibu es by highligh ing symbolic esou ces and
subjec i e s uggles as undamen al elemen s in class o ma ion.
In B azil, he deba e on he middle class has in ensi ied in ecen decades, pa icula ly
ollowing he economic g ow h and c edi expansion o he ea ly 2000s. Resea che s
such as Ma celo Ne i (2008) p oposed he exis ence o a ―new middle class,‖ p ima ily
de ined by income and consump ion c i e ia. While his na a i e gained public ac ion,
i was also sha ply c i icized by au ho s such as Jessé Souza (2018) and Ma cio
Pochmann (2012), who poin ed o he s uc u al agili y o such upwa d mobili y.
In e agency. Ins i u e N.01 AUG 2025
ISSN 2789 – 8040 2
Ra he han ep esen ing a consolida ed ans o ma ion in he class s uc u e, many o
hose labeled as pa o he ―new middle class‖ emained in condi ions o ulne abili y
and ins abili y, lacking access o du able goods, quali y educa ion, o obus social
p o ec ion ne wo ks.
I a gue ha he B azilian middle class is a luid and con adic o y social ca ego y. I s
iden i y is no solely a e lec ion o economic posi ion bu a cons uc ion ha in ol es
cul u al p ac ices, li es yles, na a i es o belonging, and s a egies o dis inc ion. In
his con ex , i becomes essen ial o adop quali a i e me hodologies ha can cap u e
he pe cep ions, alues, and ep esen a ions o he indi iduals who iden i y—o do no
iden i y—as membe s o he middle class.
The concep ual and me hodological ounda ions o his ield iden i ies he middle class
as a ela ional and con es ed ca ego y. By conside ing bo h he objec i e and
subjec i e dimensions o he social s uc u e, he need o a mo e nuanced and c i ical
ein e p e a ion o he middle class in B azil eme ges—one ha goes beyond adi ional
classi ica ions based only on income o occupa ion.
The B azilian middle class is cha ac e ized by a agmen ed, uns able iden i y, ma ked
by he ension be ween aspi a ions o upwa d mobili y, ea o social decline, and a
cons an need o symbolic ea i ma ion. The middle class de ines i sel no only by
wha i possesses, bu abo e all by how i pe cei es i sel and how i wishes o be
pe cei ed — a con inuous p ocess o classi ica ion and di e en ia ion in ela ion o
social ―o he s.‖
Regional a ia ions a e add essed h ough case s udies and da a on u ban mobili y,
access o se ices, and income inequali y ac oss di e en egions o he coun y. The
analysis demons a es ha he no ion o a homogeneous na ional middle class
o e looks he his o ical and s uc u al dispa i ies be ween he Sou h/Sou heas and he
No h/No heas .
The B azilian middle class does no cons i u e a homogeneous o cohesi e bloc. On he
con a y, his social g oup is agmen ed ac oss di e en ajec o ies, pe cep ions o
belonging, and expe iences o social mobili y. I s in e nal he e ogenei y is exp essed
h ough bo h objec i e c i e ia — such as educa ional le el, income, and occupa ion —
and in he ways indi iduals ep esen hemsel es and o he s.
Middle-class iden i y hus eme ges as a con es ed ield, shaped by alues, mo ali ies,
and social p ac ices aimed a es ablishing symbolic bounda ies.
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I can be concluded ha he no ion o a ―new middle class,‖ widely dissemina ed
h ough poli ical and economic discou se, does no hold up om a sociological
pe spec i e. Classi ying indi iduals solely based on income o e looks he mul iple laye s
o inequali y ha pe mea e B azilian socie y.
The cons uc ion o middle-class iden i y in ol es bo h ecogni ion and exclusion, and
mus be unde s ood as an ongoing social p ac ice, his o ically si ua ed and media ed by
symbolic s uggles.
Fi s and o emos , i is essen ial o mo e beyond one-dimensional models ha de ine
he middle class solely based on income. Public policies g ounded in his logic—such as
consume c edi p og ams o ax incen i es—ha e ailed o p omo e s uc u ed and
sus ainable social inclusion. In his ega d, i is ecommended ha policymake s
inco po a e mul idimensional indica o s in hei analyses, including a iables such as job
s abili y, access o quali y educa ion, asse secu i y, cul u al capi al, and social ne wo ks.
Secondly, he da a show ha he social mobili y achie ed in ecen decades has been
agile and poo ly esilien o economic c ises. Many indi iduals who expe ienced
upwa d mobili y—pa icula ly h ough access o c edi o income ans e p og ams—
did no secu e a s able posi ion wi hin he social s uc u e. Public policies should
he e o e p io i ize he s uc u al imp o emen o li ing condi ions, in es ing in quali y
public educa ion, heal hca e, e icien u ban anspo a ion, and sa e housing, a he
han elying exclusi ely on consump ion-d i en mechanisms.
Ano he impo an ecommenda ion conce ns he need o add ess egional inequali ies.
As demons a ed, he expe iences and pe cep ions o he middle class a y signi ican ly
ac oss B azilian majo u ban cen e s and egions. The No heas egion, o example,
has an eme ging middle class ha is mo e ulne able and u he emo ed om he
consolida ed condi ions obse ed in ci ies like São Paulo. Public policies mus ,
he e o e, be designed wi h e i o ial and con ex ual sensi i i y, a oiding uni o m
solu ions and s a is ical gene aliza ions ha obscu e pe iphe al eali ies.
Finally, i is c ucial o demys i y he concep o a ―new middle class‖ as a magical solu ion
o he s uc u al p oblems o inequali y. The na a i e o me i oc a ic upwa d mobili y
mus be challenged wi h empi ical da a and he li ed expe iences o indi iduals. Con inued
e o s a e ecommended o decons uc discou ses ha na u alize social hie a chies, place
he bu den o inequali y on indi iduals, and ende in isible he cumula i e e ec s o
inhe i ance, his o ical exclusion, and acial and e i o ial inequali y in B azil.
In e agency. Ins i u e N.01 AUG 2025
ISSN 2789 – 8040 4
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Lygia G. C. H yniewicz
is a p o esso a FGV EBAPE, Rio de Janei o. A esea che a he
In e Agency Ins i u e, she is also a pos doc o al ellow a he Fede al Uni e si y o Rio de Janei o
in he G adua e P og am in Sociology and a Wuppe al Uni e si y in Ge many, in he Depa men
o Educa ion. Resea ch a eas: s a i ica ion, social and educa ional inequali ies, gende , mig a ion.
ORCIDh ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-5553-0955
In e Agency Ins i u e
h ps://in e agency.ins i u e/
con ac @in e agency.ins i u e
Edi o -in-chie : Ana Paula Rod iguez
Co-edi o : Sab ina Medei os
