Rio de Janeiro – Brazil has stopped being a country of immigrants to become a country of immigrant descendents, said this Friday (15th) the strategic action secretary of the Presidency’s Secretariat for Strategic Affairs, Ricardo Paes de Barros, upon speaking for greater openness toward qualified foreign workers. According to him, they contribute to increase competitiveness, innovation, and knowledge exchange.
By 2010, only 0.3% of Brazil’s population consisted of immigrants, said Paes de Barros, whereas the rate in 1900 was 7.3%. Aside from the rate of foreigners being much lower than in countries such as Canada, Australia and Switzerland, where over 20% of residents are immigrants, foreigners in Brazil have a high average age: 36% of foreign-born people living in the country are over 65 and therefore are not a part of the economically-active population. The global rate of elderly people amongst immigrants is 12%.
The secretary called for clearer-cut rules and less red tape when it comes to hiring foreign hands. He mentioned a few points that are already being looked into, such as extension of work visas, permits for qualified workers to come to Brazil looking for work, and the adoption of a previous approval system for work contracts with foreigners, coupled with increased inspection to ensure they are not taking positions away from Brazilian workers.
On behalf of Strategic Affairs minister Moreira Franco, the secretary attended a meeting held by the Association of Brazilian Oil Services Companies (AbesPetro) to discuss the benefits of immigration to the country. The association believes the obstacles to it constitute a bottleneck on productivity. “One instance is maritime support to special vessels industry, which consists of Brazilian Navy-trained professionals. The market has grown and lot very quickly, and the rate of new personnel turned out by the Navy has failed to keep up.”
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
