From the Foreigners' Statute to the Migration Law: Brazil's Rights Turn and the Barracks Paradox
Event details
-
Monday 30 November 2026 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Seminar Room 14, The Wave, The University of Sheffield, 2 Whitham Road, Sheffield, S10 2AH
No need to register.
Description
MRG Seminar: From the Foreigners' Statute to the Migration Law: Brazil's Rights Turn and the Barracks Paradox
In 2017, Brazil replaced its dictatorship-era Foreigners' Statute with a Migration Act grounded in human rights and humanitarian reception. Less than a year later, the largest humanitarian response in its history — 'Operação Acolhida' (Operation Welcome) for Venezuelans arriving in Roraima — was entrusted to the Armed Forces, which have since relocated over 157,000 people. This talk examines that paradox: why a state that had just desecuritised migration by law turned to its soldiers, and whether the result is re-securitisation or militarisation without securitisation.
Mini-Bio: Dr. Gustavo da Frota Simões is Professor and Coordinator of the Graduate Programme in Military Sciences at the Meira Mattos Institute, Brazilian Army Command and General Staff College (ECEME), Rio de Janeiro. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Brasília and leads GEDEFROM, the Research Group on National Defence, Borders and Migration. A former lecturer at the Federal University of Roraima, on the Venezuelan border, he researches 'Operação Acolhida' (Operation Welcome), border operations and the humanitarian employment of armed forces.
Register your attendance here: https://forms.gle/zBRg2eJ9iY4q9iFy9