The Road to Get a New Migratory Policy for Brazil. From the Restrictive Military Vision to an Open Policy

Abstract

During the last Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985), the migration policy focused on 'protecting' the jobs of local workers. It also promoted the restriction of the presence of foreigners linked to leftist movements and to safeguard the government's political interests. With the return of civilian governments and the change of migration patterns, a gradual process began to overcome the restrictive logic at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, in a context in which regional integration, through Mercosur, helped to promote the free movement of people within this South American international organization. The present work explains, through a qualitative analysis of a series of selected factors, the transition experienced in Brazil from a restrictive migration policy, based on the immigration law of 1980, to the formulation of an open procedure that responded to changes in the migratory patterns, the internal and external political and economic elements and international commitments assumed by the country.