Brazilian crisis during Dilma’s governments and the new wave of migration to the USA

Abstract

This article seeks to analyze how the economic crisis during President Dilma Rousseff’s administration propelled a new wave of Brazilian migrants to the United States. This wave is characterized by a distinct socioeconomic profile of migrants, different from previous flows in the history of Brazilian migration to the United States, with particular attention to the state of Florida. The alliance between sectors of the ruling class and the media was effective in disseminating the perception of a threat to the privileges of an increasingly fearful middle class, culminating in the impeachment of the then-president in 2016. Faced with the established crisis and the intense media coverage propagating fear, the middle class sought an opportunity in the United States to maintain a standard of living similar to what they had in their home country.