“You’re better being poor here”: Migration decision-making and political and lifestyle considerations among qualified Brazilians in Portugal

Abstract

This article looks at the migration of qualified Brazilians to Portugal, with reference to the impact of political developments in Brazil on migration decision-making processes and their lifestyle aspirations in the host society. Original fieldwork consists of twenty in-depth interviews conducted with qualified Brazilians in the Lisbon area during 2019. These interviews illustrate how political and economic instability in Brazil contributed to establishing a strong migration imperative. In this scenario, Portugal is chosen as a destination due to its perceived social stability and emergence as a fashionable destination for skilled workers, with the promise of a “cosmopolitan” life. In conclusion, we emphasise the need to consider how political conditions in a sending society and lifestyle considerations interact in the migration decision-making of skilled migrants. This approach confronts assumptions that serve to disguise the precariousness of many Brazilian migrants in Portugal due to their relatively high skill levels and raising long-term concerns regarding the sustainability of lifestyle-oriented migration.