Member of Parliament proposes restricting the flow of people from Northeast Brazil to Joinville. Union denounces proposal as unconstitutional and xenophobic.

247 - City councilman Mateus Batista (União) from Joinville (SC) proposed an “internal migration control” to restrict the presence of people from the Northeast of Brazil in the city. According to the councilman, the arrival of people from the Northeast could transform Santa Catarina into a “slum”.

The proposal would require proof of residency within 14 days for anyone arriving in the municipality of Santa Catarina. Opponents of the project considered the matter unconstitutional, discriminatory, and xenophobic. The Federal Constitution guarantees the free movement of people throughout the national territory (Article 5, XV).

The Union of Municipal Public Servants of Joinville (Sinsej) released a statement of repudiation. "The councilman doesn't inform, he just creates hysteria to get likes. He doesn't say, for example, that immigration in Santa Catarina occurs mostly between people from Santa Catarina and states like Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and São Paulo," the union highlighted.

“He prefers to stigmatize Brazilians from other regions, such as Pará, to reproduce a social apartheid – an irresponsible attitude that can generate violence against immigrants in our city. He doesn't explain that the causes of what he calls 'slumification' also lie in real estate speculation, the housing deficit, the lack of public policies, and the insistence on transferring what is public to private interests.”

In attempting to justify his proposal, the congressman stated on Instagram that "Santa Catarina is paying the price twice – and nobody wants to talk about it." "First, Brasília takes more than it gives back through the federal pact. Then, mismanagement and corruption in the North and Northeast drive out their population, who end up migrating here. The result? Our public services are overburdened, cities are congested, and social disorder is increasing," he wrote.

"Between 1960 and 1980, we managed to expand the infrastructure to absorb population growth. Today, with fewer resources and more taxes going abroad, this is impossible. We are already feeling the effects: lack of schools, chaotic traffic, and an increase in the homeless population. The solution? Either we control the migratory flow with clear policies, as developed countries do, or Santa Catarina risks becoming a large slum. Either we break the unjust political pact, or the pact breaks Santa Catarina."

See now the full text of the statement issued by Sinsej:

Once again, the news comes from the far right in Joinville. This time, from councilman Mateus Batista (União), a member of the MBL – Movimento Brasil Livre (Free Brazil Movement). The councilman, on his social media, stated that "if we don't stop the migratory flow, Santa Catarina will turn into a giant slum," referring especially to Pará as a comparison. The councilman's statements demonstrate not only xenophobia, but also the already customary ignorance that the far right has about matters of state.

According to the councilman, the “corruption and mismanagement in the North and Northeast” are causing an increase in immigration to Santa Catarina, as if the state were an unblemished territory within the country. It is important to remember that cases of corruption have always been characteristic of Santa Catarina. In recent history alone, more than 28 mayors have been arrested for corruption in recent years. We have also had misappropriation of public funds in the contracting of urban cleaning services in the state. Social Organizations, defended by this councilman, lead the ranking of corruption in the country and have been the target of several Federal Police operations in Santa Catarina. Furthermore, we have had fraud in the purchase of respirators during the Covid pandemic, in addition to the Rio Mathias CPI… and a long criminal record.

Therefore, the "corruption and mismanagement" factor is just another one of those fabricated facts that the right wing likes to create. And the ignorance of this councilman, who claims to be a liberal, is evident regarding data from Santa Catarina and also about basic principles of liberalism: it's just a compilation of misinformation with an artificial TikToker-like performance, promoting xenophobia.

Adam Smith argued in *The Wealth of Nations* that the free movement of people is complementary to the free market. Even Ludwig von Mises, a liberal who has recently returned to fashion among the right, said that labor mobility is a condition for the allocation of resources. Mises, Hayek, Friedman, and Smith all unanimously defend freedom of movement as an expansion of the market. And it's no coincidence that no major businessman from Santa Catarina complains about immigration, where labor is always welcome in the exploitative logic of industry and agribusiness.

It is extremely embarrassing for a union, whose ideology is clearly focused on the constant defense of the working class and its emancipation, to explain to a liberal parliamentarian what liberalism is.

About "the big favela"

The city councilman, who proudly displayed on his social media the fact that he had been labeled xenophobic in République, stated that if the migratory flow continued, Santa Catarina would become "one giant slum." According to a study by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the state has 166 vulnerable communities. And the causes of this require some historical context and data.

In Joinville, for example, we experienced a significant increase in the immigrant population during the 70s and 80s, a result of the city's industrial expansion. To keep pace with population growth, it is necessary to invest in public services, expanding and improving housing, health, and education policies. If this investment is not made, the result will be a growth of vulnerable peripheral communities. Therefore, when the union states that it is necessary to hire more public servants (which the MBL councilman opposes), increase public investment (which the councilman also opposes), and not spend R$ 100 million on appointed positions (which the councilman fervently supported during Adriano Silva's Administrative Reform), it is precisely so that the city can provide adequate services according to demand.

But the councilman doesn't provide information; he's just creating a frenzy to get likes. He doesn't mention, for example, that immigration in Santa Catarina mostly occurs between people from Santa Catarina and states like Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and São Paulo. He prefers to stigmatize Brazilians from other regions, like Pará, to reproduce a social apartheid – an irresponsible attitude that can generate violence against immigrants in our city. He doesn't explain that the causes of what he calls "slumification" also lie in real estate speculation, the housing deficit, the lack of public policies, and the insistence on transferring what is public to private interests.

The history of MBL

The position of councilman Mateus Batista, from the MBL (Free Brazil Movement), is not unfamiliar to the union. This movement often acts by exceeding the limits of legality – as was the case with a leading figure in the movement who stated "that Ukrainian women were easier because they were poor." In 2016, during the attempt to pass the Gag Law with the support of Pastor Leia, the MBL was widely rejected by Joinville and the law was ultimately overturned. During the demonstrations and leaflet distributions in the streets during that campaign, the MBL sent 14 and 15-year-old teenagers to provoke the demonstrators, while its leaders watched. It is, above all, a cowardly movement and an enemy of youth and workers.

Sinsej's position

We, from Sinsej, repudiate the councilman's statements which, in addition to reproducing common sense and lies, further contribute to violence among workers. We also exalt a city where the history of construction and struggle has been linked, since its inception, to immigrants.

It is not with R$ 100 million for appointed officials, graffiti removal, and flowerpots that don't flood (policies supported by Mateus Batista alongside the mayor) that we will solve the problems of the city, the working class, and the youth. We understand that, within the limits of parliamentary democracy, it is not the role of a council member to incite hatred against people from other regions, but rather to confront the problems of these workers, far from fallacies and straw men.