THE EXPORT OF BRAZILIAN WORKERS TO THE U.S.: FROM WORK TO LIVE TO LIVE TO WORK

DOI: 10.17267/2317-3386bjmhh.v5i1.1316 Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have emigrated to the U.S for over thirty years now1-3. While the size of the population, civil status, gender, sending and receiving, and socioeconomic position of emigrants have varied over the decades, the majority of Brazilian e/immigrants to the U.S. always claimed that they had to leave Brazil, at least temporarily, to improve their living conditions. These émigrés were optimistic that life in the U.S would be better because they would make more money, buy state of the art consumer products, send remittances to family members, live in good apartments or houses located in safe neighborhoods, and provide good education and health for their children. In contrast, other Brazilians left their homeland to escape from conditions such as domestic violence, community violence, and sexual oppression, wherein family and community life were sources of intense suffering and stress, if not life threatening.