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Young Portuguese see Brazil as 'land of opportunity'
23/12/2011
Record numbers of young people from Brazil's former colonist, Portugal, are now flocking to the country, as they see its employment and economic prospects as far more healthy than at home.
The exceptional economic growth that Brazil saw in 2010 and the stabilising of that growth that took place in 2011 is in stark contrast to the economic fortune of Portugal. Ratings agency Fitch has predicted that its economy will contract by around 3 per cent in 2012, while its unemployment rate of 12.4 per cent is the highest that it has been since the 1980s.
Brazil's justice secretary, Paulo Abrão, said that the nation welcomed the young, educated people from Portugal, and that they would gladly provide them with the opportunities that they are unable to find at home.
"Brazil has a tradition of receiving immigrants and of being an open and receptive country," he explained. "Immigrants have played a central role in our country's history."
One of the young migrants, 27-year-old Gonçalo Pires, said the opportunities in Portugal had been very "depressing" and the decision to move to Brazil to set up his graphic design company was not a tough one.
"Here the market is on fire," said Pires, whose company, Vidigalo, operates out of Rio's Vidigal neighbourhood, with an outlook over Ipanema Beach. "There are lots of opportunities to find work, to find clients and projects."
The exceptional economic growth that Brazil saw in 2010 and the stabilising of that growth that took place in 2011 is in stark contrast to the economic fortune of Portugal. Ratings agency Fitch has predicted that its economy will contract by around 3 per cent in 2012, while its unemployment rate of 12.4 per cent is the highest that it has been since the 1980s.
Brazil's justice secretary, Paulo Abrão, said that the nation welcomed the young, educated people from Portugal, and that they would gladly provide them with the opportunities that they are unable to find at home.
"Brazil has a tradition of receiving immigrants and of being an open and receptive country," he explained. "Immigrants have played a central role in our country's history."
One of the young migrants, 27-year-old Gonçalo Pires, said the opportunities in Portugal had been very "depressing" and the decision to move to Brazil to set up his graphic design company was not a tough one.
"Here the market is on fire," said Pires, whose company, Vidigalo, operates out of Rio's Vidigal neighbourhood, with an outlook over Ipanema Beach. "There are lots of opportunities to find work, to find clients and projects."
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