Irmandade ou (in)tolerância: o repensar da luso-brasilidade para uma cooperação Brasil-Portugal contra a xenofobia e o racismo

Abstract

Over the last two hundred years, Brazil and Portugal have experienced adverse moments in their political and social relations, facing structural dilemmas that date back to the colonization period and have characterized the basis of bilateral dialogues in the social, economic, migratory, legal, and political spheres, resulting in secular distancing and rapprochement. In the contemporary era, the two countries have stabilized their political exchanges through joint government efforts to promote a Luso-Brazilian community, based on the ideal of brotherhood between peoples and emphasized in political summits, multilateral forums, and media discourse. However, despite this emphasis, recent decades have seen an escalation of hostility in social relations between Brazilians and Portuguese, with Brazilian immigrants increasingly reporting physical, moral, verbal, and psychological abuse in Portugal. The current degradation of the human rights of Brazilian immigrants in the country finds space in the propagation of contemporary extremist and nationalist discourses, of a xenophobic and racist nature, which seem to be linked to the old stereotypes attributed to Brazilians since colonization and the reworking of old imperial hierarchies between peoples. The hypothesis proposed in this study is that, even with the evolution of exchanges between the states, the actions of the public authorities of both countries have historically been inefficient in enacting legal and political measures aimed at a complete decolonization and a break with colonialist impressions. Instead, more utilitarian exchanges were conducted, which, in the somewhat vague discourse of fraternal Luso-Brazilianism, provided political and capital gains for the ruling elites to the detriment of the most vulnerable population. The result of this process would be the non-elimination of social tensions that generate the discourses currently observed, from the popular sphere to the center of the State, jeopardizing the fundamental rights of the victims. This study is divided into three chapters, carried out using a hypothetical-deductive method and documentary and bibliographic research methodology, using an interdisciplinary approach mainly between History, International Relations, and International Human Rights Law. The main objectives of the text are to understand the possible correlation between the political use of Luso-Brazilian identity and the current scenario of violence; to ascertain which legal loopholes and political movements foster the proliferation of hatred in Portugal and to understand the patterns of violence; to outline prospects for Brazil-Portugal cooperation capable of mitigating the advance of discrimination between peoples through interculturality. At the end of the study, elements of the established hypothesis are proven and a new effort is advocated for a transnational cooperation that addresses both the shared history and the political and cultural meaning of Luso-Brazilian identity, in addition to the internal legal systems of the States regarding discrimination. It is understood that this process requires bilateral and multilateral efforts and the appreciation of the contributions of various non-state actors involved in the debate, within a logic of strengthened governance.