624. INTERVIEW: Brazilian Dentists in Portugal

Early in the 1990 decade, category of Brazilian immigrants who became best known was that of dentists in Portugal. Armed with their diplomas, some Brazilian dentists moved to Portugal and started to exercise their profession there, a more favorable market. At the time, there was an agreement between Portugal and Brazil which established the direct equivalence between all university degrees in Brazil and Portugal. The migratory flow of Brazilian dentists bother both the Portuguese dentists that until the legislation was changed.

It was on this issue that the journal Science With spoke with Igor José de Renó Machado, anthropologist and researcher at the International Migration Studies Center (CEMI). The research focuses on the different views produced in Portugal over the Brazilians. In these visions, Machado realizes an association between the stereotype of the Brazilian trickery with the figure of immigrants dentists.

With Science - summarize for us what you know of the problem of Brazilian dentists in Portugal.

Igor Machado - By 1991 the APMD, the Professional Association of Doctors Dentists Portugal, begins to complain about the presence of illegal Brazilian dentists in Portugal. This body is what regulates the profession of dentist in Portugal and, to practice, it must be associated. Therefore, it is she who gives the equivalence of diplomas. The point is that the Brazilian and Portuguese formations have differences (which are significant for Portuguese and Brazilians do not). Before the diplomatic impasse, since Brazil-Portugal Cultural Agreement of 7 September 1966, Article XIV regulates the equivalence of Brazilian and Portuguese professional degrees, the low Portuguese government for Ordinance administratively legalizing the practice of dental surgeons Brazilians in Portugal. Ordinance 180-A / 92 of June 1992 equaled Brazilian dentists and technicians allowed them to practice the profession and, as they were not dentists, were linked to the health ministry and not the APMD. The fragility of this ordinance was challenged in court by APDM on 04.16.1993, and all Brazilian dentists were being personally cited in individual cases. In 1998, the time of my first contact with the leaders of ABOP, was in transit a discussion at the meeting to try to resolve the case of dentists, while the process was running in justice.

With Science - The Association of Brazilian dentists is relevant in Portugal?

Machado - The importance of movement of Brazilian dentists is such that in 1994, the Brazilian and Portuguese governments began negotiations to resolve diplomatic disputes. Among these negotiations, it was intended to renegotiate the Cultural Agreement Luso-Brazilian, at which time the Brazilian government imposed the condition of recognition of 416 Brazilian dentists processed by APMD. The problem has worsened due to the fact of CLAD (Art Liaison Committee Dental EU), the body that regulates the equivalence of dentist curricula in Europe, have threatened the Portuguese government with a complaint to the European Court of Justice case Portugal recognizes the Brazilian dentists and dentists. Finally, in 1999 the Brazilian dental associations and Portuguese stomatology (the equivalent of our "dentistry"), pressed by their national diplomacies, can reach an agreement that resolved the problems of these dentists, and force the writing of a new cultural agreement which shall cover situations such as the Brazilian dentists. The new treaty provides for granting equivalence of diplomas is a problem of professional associations of both countries. Having achieved their goals, the Portuguese Association admitted that the affiliates dentists to ABOP be integrated into the Portuguese order by a soft schedule adaptation of curricula courses.

With Science - What is the reaction of the Portuguese media to this dispute?

Machado - Part of Portuguese mixed media misinformation, sensationalism and bias and part sought to properly inform about the problems. The fact is that both associations were in open war, which implied the dissemination of slanderous information on both sides. Did not see any serious work that sought to investigate the claims of both parties (such as check which are, in fact, differences in training between Brazilian and dentists). But biased reports that dentists related to stereotypes about Brazilian trickster, smart were the ones that stood out, of course. They, on the one hand, sensitized the Brazilian media that highlighted the prejudice coverage in the Portuguese media and on the other, rentabilizaram the position of dentists who could say that his case was a case of defending the image of Brazil, against prejudices, etc.

With Science - What is the political positioning of dentists leaders during the struggle for equivalidação of diplomas? Within the universe of Brazilians in Portugal the political leadership of dentists was or is significant?

Machado - The position was declared confrontation. While the CBL (Casa do Brazil Lisbon) sought to articulate a rights extension speech because of Luso-Brazilian brotherhood, as shown by Gustavo Adolfo Santos [the Master's thesis Interethnic Relations in Lisbon: Immigrants Brazilians and Africans in the context Lusophone, also a researcher at the CEMI], the ABOP wanted the letter of the treaty of 1966 was fulfilled, even claiming that Portugal was the Brazilians the good treatment that the Brazilian government gave runaway Portuguese revolution of the carnations and all Portuguese immigrants. The discourse of ABOP was so hard that the Brazilian consulate prevented the presence of leaders of this association in the international symposium on Brazilian immigration in Lisbon, organized by CEMI and CBL. To get an idea at the time ABOP to say Brazilian Dental Association Section Portugal, a deep contempt for APMD. Of course, the leadership of these dentists is significant, just see they were always welcomed by Brazilian heads of state (Itamar and Cardoso), however it is not representative. Today the vast majority of Brazilians in Portugal is poor and with low schooling, and they definitely do not feel represented by dentists, seen as true tycoons.

With Science - What are the consequences of the resolution of the case of dentists to other Brazilian?

Machado - short, ABOP solve your particular problem and at the same time triggered a new cultural treaty that makes life difficult for other Brazilian professionals (even for new dentists) who now are completely dependent on the Portuguese orders and no longer has the support of the old treaty cultural, which included a requirement for granting equivalence. This process ended in July 2000, when the last module of adaptation courses was completed, along with a solemnity that was intended to stifle the crisis years and a resolution that is in no way beneficial to the community of Brazilians in Portugal, as it tries assert ABOP. If before the ABOP fought for law enforcement, it was beneficial to Brazilians, now they managed to solve the problem itself and abolish the law was good and allowed the right claims. Well, from now on the new skilled migrants should resolve their issues directly with their Portuguese associations, which always tried to defend its market, as we can imagine. For Brazilians without training the only effect of this whole fight was reinforcing stereotypes by the Portuguese media, which negatively affects the lives of everyone.

With Science - What is the current policy position of dentists after the resolution of the problems?

Machado - If previously combative, now are more realistic than the king. During the congress that ended the problem with the latest training modules for the equivalence of diplomas, which I attended, what else could hear was on the Luso-Brazilian brotherhood, about the eternal bonds of friendship, on the strengthening of relations between the Brazilian association of Dentistry and the Portuguese, etc. To the Brazilian ambassador was there and made his speech at the end of closing section, celebrating the end of the fights between the transatlantic brethren.
IGOR MACHADO

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