Brazil: Mobility, border control and deportation in a context of the expansion of the far right and threats to democracy

📅 Date: 20th October 2026
(I.e. Time: 8AM MX | 10AM NYC | 11AM ARG &BR | 2PM UCT
💻 Modality: hybrid, with simultaneous transmission

🔴 Live stream: https://torontomu.zoom.us/j/96932554222?pwd=jbFLbOHYg7WxtVCAgfnH8Dlgg72mAO.1#success

Spanish

Brazil: Mobility, border control and deportation in a context of the expansion of the far right and threats to democracy

Since the 2010s, Brazil has acquired a unique position in the contemporary dynamics of border mobility and control. On the one hand, it has become a regional and international transit hub, leading to the emergence of various methods for containing migrants and the implementation of measures targeting undocumented migrants from different regions, especially since the Temer administration (2016-2018). In addition to promoting border externalization policies, Brazil signed a bilateral agreement during Trump's first term for the repatriation of Brazilians deported from the United States, which remains in effect. In the context of the presidential elections of October 4, 2026, we invite you to analyze the changes and setbacks in the border regime.
This debate will examine the trans-American situation during the governments of Temer (2016-2018), Bolsonaro (2018-2022), and Lula (2022-2026), taking into account the recent expansion of far-right Latin American governments allied with the Trump administration. The debate, which will take place before the second round of elections, aims to analyze the challenges and actions these issues pose for democracy in the wake of the polarized presidential contest between Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro. It will draw on local studies and activist practices, with a particular focus on the connections between deportation, border control, and mobility in contemporary Brazil, as well as the repercussions of a potential far-right victory in the current Latin American landscape.

Portuguese

Brazil: Mobility, border control and deportations in a context of expansion of extreme direita and support for democracy 

Since the 2010s, Brazil has been playing a unique role in the contemporary dynamics of mobility and border control. On the one hand, it became a regional transit center and
internationally, adopting various methods of containment of migrants and measures against those without documents, coming from different regions of the world, especially since the Temer government (2016-2018). In addition to promoting border externalization policies, or the host country, during Trump's first term, a bilateral agreement for the repatriation of Brazilian citizens deported to the United States, which is still in force. I have as background information, the first turn of the presidential elections of October 4, 2026, we would like to invite them to participate in a debate on the changes and retrocesses of the trans-American border regime during the governments of Temer (2016-2018), Bolsonaro (2018-2022) and Lula 3 (2022-2026), does not mark the recent expansion of two Latin American governments of extreme directness, allied to the Trump government. The debate, to be held before the second round of the elections, aims to analyze the challenges and actions that these questões represent for democracy in this polarized presidential dispute between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, based on local studies and activist practices, with special focus on the connections between deportation, border control and mobility in Brazil contemporâneo and the repercussions of an eventual victory in the extreme right in the current Latin American scenario.

Participants:
Bela Feldan-Bianco (UNICAMP, Brazil)
Paulo Illes (CDHIC)
Joao Chaves (Uniao Public Defender)
Gustav Dias (UNIMONTES)

They moderate:
Eduardo Domench (IDACOR, CONICET/UNC), Argentina)
Bela Feldman-Bianco (UNICAMP, Brazil)

Organized by:
CLACSO Working Group on Migration and South-South Borders
Migration Scholars Solidarity and Resistance Network