Imigração contemporânea de africanos, latino-americanos e caribenhos na atividade do comércio informal na cidade do Rio de Janeiro (1980-2025)

Abstract

This thesis presents an analysis of the study of the contemporary urban phenomenon of "spontaneous" immigration and the activity of informal street vending, especially of African (Angolan, Congolese and Senegalese, Ghanaian and Nigerian), Latin American (Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, Argentinian, Peruvian, Uruguayan and Colombian) and Caribbean (Haitian) immigrants to the city of Rio de Janeiro between the years 1980 and 2025. The research analyzes the historical contexts of these migratory flows, seeking to identify the identity resignifications of informal immigrant workers in the city. We initially consider that contemporary non-European immigration is often treated as homogeneous, unlike other contemporary immigration portraits in Brazil. We seek to understand the movements of constructing new identities, transmigration (understood here as being between two places), so- called "stepping stone" immigration (using Brazil as a way to reach other countries), the issue of work, socio-racial exclusion, and the spaces (territories of housing, work, and culture) created by various African, Latin American, and Caribbean immigrant communities in Rio de Janeiro. Our study reveals how immigrants are targets of xenophobia and racism, not only during their informal work activities but also in their daily lives (authority agents, service in public and private institutions). Our analysis relied on the results of research conducted to profile immigrant informal workers in the city of Rio de Janeiro.