Rio de Janeiro – The good economic conjuncture in Brazil has drawn growing numbers of immigrants to arrive in the country. Most are Latin, especially from Mercosur member countries or associated countries, but the number of Asians and Africans is growing as well.
According to the Ministry of Justice, in 2010 there were 961,000 foreigners legally established in the country, a figure that rose to 1.466 million last year. In order to organize the migratory flow, the federal government submitted a bill to the National Congress to modernize the Estatuto do Estrangeiro (Statute of Foreigners), enacted in 1980, which will be expanded to become a new Migration Act.
The topic will be discussed in the seminar O Direito dos Migrantes no Brasil (The Rights of Migrants in Brazil), which started last Wednesday (16th) and will continue until next Friday (18th), attended by government officials, international organizations, social organizations, and researchers in a hotel in the south side of Rio. The event aims to collect suggestions to be made to representatives and senators so as to improve the new bill.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
