Contemporary European Politics

Portuguese national identity and the discrimination towards Brazilian immigrants

The most recent report by the Comissão para a Igualdade e Contra a Discriminação
Racial - Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CICDR) (2021) says that
discrimination toward Brazilian migrants in Portugal has increased in the past years and it’s on
the rise. In 2021, the characteristics related to Nationality stand out at (39.2%), followed by Skin
Color (17.2%), and Racial and Ethnic Origin (16.9%) as the protected trait or factor of
discrimination that is most frequently mentioned in the recorded complaints to CICDR.
Particularly, the phrase "Brazilian nationality" (26.7%), followed by "gypsy ethnicity" (16.4%) and
"black skin color" (15.9%) stood out as the reason for the start of discrimination (p. 17). A
quarter of the complaints to CICDR are made by Brazilians even though the two nationalities
share so much in common – culture and language-wise. According to the news report by BBC
(2022) on the matter, it is possible to read the concerning discrimination reports by Brazilians
living in Portugal – which begins the first moment the accent is noticed – in the first word spoken
by a Brazilian. Since 2017, the complaints of xenophobia cases against Brazilians have
increased by 433% (para. 1-5). On a very important note, the intention of this essay is not to
assert that Brazilian immigrants or people from different nationalities are the only group of
people that suffer from discrimination, but it is going to be the focus in this particular case due to
the argumentation based on the Portuguese colonial past and Portuguese national identity.

It is interesting to note that any Portuguese understands the Brazilian accent at a very
high level due to the Brazilian influence in the world, and especially in the national territory
through culture - soap operas, music, movies, etc. – hence any Brazilian immigrant in Portugal
has the facility to communicate perfectly in the same language. Thus, the main challenge for the
reception of immigrants is not felt in this case as there is no language barrier. Nevertheless, the
Portuguese are known for having good linguistic and communication skills and qualities towards
foreigners, and according to the English Proficiency Index (2021), Portugal has a very high level
of English proficiency – occupying the 7th position as the most proficient country in the world (p.
6). It is possible to argue that this might be because of improved education in Portugal, but also
of the interest in learning different languages, cultures, and openness to the outside world.
However, many Brazilians suffer directly from discrimination, often in a first interaction just as
their accent is perceived.
 This happens at the same time the far right is on the rise in the west with Portugal
following the trend with the rise of the extreme right - as the Chega party was elected as the
third-largest force in parliament in January of this year with its anti-immigration rhetoric, among
other populist narratives. Although the so-called "gypsies" are the target of its leader André
Ventura's divisive remarks against immigrants rather than Brazilians, the party’s success in the
most recent parliamentary elections legitimates some credence to those looking to spread hate
speech. For instance, this resulted in cases of racism in Lisbon that in 2020 with schools and
universities being painted with racist slurs such as: ‘Zucas voltem para as favelas’ – ‘Brazilians
go back to the favelas” (para. 1). A very perturbing episode of racism towards gypsy, Brazilian
and black community that is not isolated in Portugal; however, the president of the Portuguese
far-right party, André Ventura, invalidates the fact that the Portuguese society is racist after
another episode involving two Brazilian citizens in Lisbon this summer. In fact, although it is
expected or not, the same reaction was carried out by the President of the Republic Marcelo
Rebelo de Sousa (2022), who in an interview regarding the same episode completely
disregarded the existence of racism in Portugal on a general mode, in whatever form. This is
worrying at a time that the number of Brazilian immigrants in Portugal is skyrocketing in the past
years, combined with the increase of discrimination towards the same group – high figures in
the country do not seem to acknowledge that there is a systemic problem, while others incentive
this reaction towards migrants.

The constant stigma and growth of discrimination against Brazilian immigrants are
probably explained, not through simple discrimination against immigrants, foreigners, or any
other nation. The basis for this recurring and increasing discrimination against Brazilians is the
lack of knowledge of the Portuguese colonial past – which can be explained by Portuguese
education - with this I mean, literally, the Portuguese education system and the teaching of
history in Portuguese schools that teach the colonial past as the “discoveries”. As well as
theories developed to explain the relationship of the Portuguese with the tropics, more
specifically with Brazil, and interconnects with the Portuguese identity explaining the reason why
Portuguese colonization was different from the other - relativizing it in relation to the other
European colonial powers.

There is a lack of addressing social injustices, power imbalances, structural supremacy,

and discrimination in Portugal. It is important to note that, as Étienne Balibar (1991) has argued
in his “Racism and Nationalism”, the idea that past cases of harm and hostility against nations
such as colonialism, anti-Semitism, and the holocaust, retain their symbolic value and should be
seen not as phases of the European past but also explain cases of contemporary discrimination
and racism. It has been connected to the construction and critique of a "Portuguese specificity,"
(p. 43) which has been defined as the ability to communicate with others and to be, and which
has been enunciated as Lusotropicalism – connecting distortedly the "Portuguese colonization"
to the idea that race is an irrelevant sociopolitical issue – to be explored further in the text.
Another idea taken from Balibar’s work is the “phenomenon of 'depreciation' and 'racialization'
which is directed simultaneously against different social groups which are quite different in
'nature' (particularly 'foreign' communities, 'inferior races', women and 'deviants')” (p. 49) that
can be found in some of the reports made of episodes of discrimination against Brazilians in
which the victim is dehumanized, in which the stereotype of Brazilians, in general, is made.
These phenomena can happen to any situation and any type of discrimination, but especially to
the Brazilian stereotype in Portuguese society as almost the totality of these reports are of
sexual content or of discrediting the victim at a cognitive level. For instance, the BBC news from
May 6th, 2022, reports various statements made by Brazilians who live or have lived in Portugal
and have suffered from discrimination and describes many cases of discrimination based on
stereotypes with sexual connotations.

It is important to highlight the importance that speech and language play in the heritage
of thought – that it is being perpetuated by academia and high important figures in Portuguese
society. Following the Foucauldian notion of discourse, the relationship between knowledge and
power, Reiner Keller (1990) writes about the importance of discourse to understand social
systems such as class, institutions, classifications, and conventions – as only a few examples of
how discourse is shaped and controlled - discourse indicates the world and gives it meaning as
a method of representation and it develops a vocabulary to discuss things (44-46). It makes the
case that discourse plays a significant role in the formation of what we refer to as ‘social
identities', as well as in the development of social interactions and knowledge systems. it also
has a significant impact on how people interact with one another and the environment (p. 48-
51).

The perpetuation of colonial thought and social structures is important to take into
consideration and acknowledge – as the creation of ‘us’ and ‘them’. In his essay “The west and
the Rest: Discourse and Power”, Stuart Hall (2019) argues that these two terms are more than
cardinal directions. When using the term west, one refers to a society that is developed,
capitalistic and modern – that is what social vocabulary it is signified. Through the power that
discourse has, the west as a concept gives a structure of thought that permits to characterize
and classify societies. It is a system of representation that sets a model of comparison between
different societies – thus, how they resemble or differ, and it shapes how people think and talks
(p. 185-189). This notion of the west and the rest – the white colonial European powers and the
ex-colonies explains partly why – Brazilians and African represents higher rates of
discrimination in Portugal – than for instance, (peripheric or 2nd world) Eastern Europeans -
even though sharing more cultural and linguistic features.

The historical establishment of an arbitrary distinction between the metropolis and the
colonies has impeded an investigation of the relationships between colonial and national
administration. In his article “On the Lusophone Postcolony: ‘Culture’, ‘race’, language’”, Miguel
Vale de Almeida (2006) argues that although colonialism and the notion of Portuguese
discoveries have been closely linked to the construction of Portuguese national identity
including the idea of a Portuguese colonialist empire, the relevance of the idea of race has been
effectively erased from the understanding of Portuguese nationhood. In fact, many were the
studies, conferences, and speeches that affirm Portuguese as a Mediterranean race, without
any relevant signs of mestiçagem with African elements (p. 7-11). It appears to be partially
relevant to analyzing racial relations in the colonial territories but not fully relevant in comparison
with the metropolis. Engaging with this aids in critically analyzing current representations of
diversity in Portuguese society and the idea of soft colonialism symbolized by miscegenation.
This process is highlighted when it occurs in colonial areas where the Portuguese brought their
culture and shared its blood, but it is suppressed when it does so in the Portuguese national
space (p.2-4 & 20-27). They specifically fail to challenge the traditional conception of the
Portuguese people as racially and culturally homogeneous people – “the rhetoric of Lusophony
applies only to inter-state relations, not to inter-people relations” (Vale de Almeida, 2006, p. 25).

From the colonial ideals that built up the Portuguese national identity and it acts as
current support for a general reject or ignorance of colonialism in the Portuguese society,
Lusotropicalism might be the most crucial to understand and refer to. In his work ‘From Colonial
Lusotropicalism to Postcolonial Lusophony’, Miguel Vale de Almeida (2008) dissects the theory
developed by Gilberto Freyre in the 20th century, with the intention of elucidating the connection
between Portugal and the tropics founded on comparison and exceptionalism. Lusotropicalism
is pertinent to understanding the Portuguese national identity as it is the idea of the contact
between the intrepid and daring Portuguese and the natives at the beginning of Portuguese
colonialism - Portugal can colonize with empathy and natural expertise thanks to exceptionalism
and places Portuguese colonialism more in the context of an encounter by contrasting it with
those of other colonial powers in order to highlight the differences between the two – idea that
was highly supported by the Estado Novo – the Portuguese dictatorship ruled by António de
Salazar in the 60s while being pressured by the international community (p. 6-7). Since then,
after the end of the dictatorship and the loss of all the colonies, Portugal maintained the colonial
identity maintaining the connection to ex-colonies with the idea of Lusofonia, which prevails until
today (p. 7-8). As Vale de Almeida (2006) refers, it is a part of the national identity of the country
that Lusotropical discourse is still used in an official speech, education, football, and marketing -
sponsored by political actors (p. 18-19), as for instance did Portuguese President Marcelo
Rebelo de Sousa (2022) in his statements about the incident of this summer involving the
Brazilian couple saying that Portuguese is not racist and episodes like this cannot be
generalized because there are no “pure Portuguese”, that we are offspring of different cultures,
different civilizations, diverse origins – all transmigrants. (para. 1-6). This is a great example of
denial of discussing racism as it happens in Portuguese daily life – what Vale de Almeida (2008)
would call Post Lusotropicalismo (p. 9-10) - is a major factor in why racism is still not openly
discussed and dealt straightforwardly.

These are all created mechanisms rooted in national identity that translate into an
entitlement to discriminate against Brazilians, Africans, and any nationality coming from
Portuguese ex-colonies. It is entrenched in Portuguese society and is denied by high
Portuguese personalities, politicians, mainstream civil society, and even some academia. As a
person that went through the whole process that is the Portuguese school system, there is total
colonial amnesia in the system that teaches its pupils to understand colonialism as the greatest
times in Portugal's past that translates in pride and joy. Not only inside the classrooms but in the
society is possible to find traces of colonialism entrenched in the national identity anywhere in
Portuguese society – from monuments in glorification of colonialism, to the names of the streets
in Portugal, and even on important cultural events – as for instance the opening ceremony of
the football European cup 2004 in Lisbon. Therefore, it is impossible currently to separate
colonialism from Portuguese culture and national identity.

One may argue that the rise of far-right in Portugal will create a tendency for an increase
in number and worsening of discrimination episodes. I believe that it is absolutely intertwined.
Moreover, looking at education as a governmental institution one can argue that is
representative of the nation’s values and identity. It is then, a tool of control of ways of thinking,
acting, being and of thinking, acting, and being in relation to others. The content of education
and the teaching of history subjects in Portuguese middle and high schools perpetuate the
legitimization of colonialism and enroots the national identity. The ideals of academia and
Portuguese politics and the discourses they carry are an extension of the country's national
identity - which is entrenched in colonial amnesia. Until there is a reform in teaching and a
change in the Portuguese school curriculum – until there is no acknowledgment by our
politicians that maintain a discourse that disregards and ignores the heritage of colonialism - as
long as our politicians and all those who represent the country and as long as the symbols of
Portuguese culture portray a wrong colonial past - as long as this is the reality of the
Portuguese, it will also be the reality of ex-colonies immigrants in Portugal to suffer this type of
case of discrimination.

Bibliography

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Bruno Fardilha

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