Dr Francis Portes Virginio

Research Associate

Work, Employment and Organisation

Personal statement

Dr. Francis Portes Virginio is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow working on his project: ‘the Securitisation of Nature, Displacement and Unfree Labour in Brazil`s Amazon’.

Francis' research is broadly concerned with the types of labour/migration regimes and logistical infrastructures that build ‘sustainable development projects’ in extractive corridors.

His current work critically interrogates the role military and paramilitary frameworks play in accommodating global chains of value production and distribution in the Brazilian Amazonian region. He is interested in feminist, anti-racist and postcolonial materialist approaches to political economy, supply chain management and employment regulation.

His research and publications lie primarily in the fields of global commodity chains, labour migration, forced displacement, social reproduction (SRT), slave labour and other forms of unfree labour relations.

Francis also values public engagement and community participation in research and the decision-making process. He has worked closely with migrants, refugees and indigenous communities in Brazil, supporting them to influence policy and practice via engagement with governmental institutions.

Expertise

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Prize And Awards

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship: Recipient; 23/5/2021
Nominee for the SAGE Prize for Innovation/Excellence 2024: Recipient; 4/2024
Santander Mobility Fund: Recipient; 2016
Research Excellence Award - PhD Studentship: Recipient; 30/7/2014
ERASMUS MUNDUS -European Commission Research Award: Recipient; 28/5/2012

More prizes and awards

Qualifications

Francis holds a Ph.D. in Work, Employment and Organisation from the University of Strathclyde, a Double Master’s degree in Migration Studies and Conflict Mediation from KU Leuven (Belgium), and the University of Lille (France), and a BA in Psychology from the State University of São Paulo (Brazil).

Regional Expertise: Latin America

Country Expertise: Brazil

Languages: Portuguese (Native Speaker), English, French and Spanish.

Publications

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Publications

Logistics of unfreedom : the labour trafficking of Venezuelan truck drivers in Brazil: Portes Virginio Francis, dos Santos Ferreira Livia; Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, pp. 1-18 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544231213196
From securitisation to martialisation : logistics of humanitarian protection in Brazil’s Amazon: Portes Virginio Francis, Garvey Brian, Stewart Paul; Environment and Planning D: Society and Space (2024); https://doi.org/10.1177/02637758241256824
Symposium proposal : logistics and social reproduction: McGrath Siobhán, Schling Hannah, Hopkins Debbie, Portes Virginio Francis; Antipode: A Radical Jounal of Geography (2024)
Unpacking super-exploitation in the 21st century : the struggles of Haitian workers in Brazil: Portes Virginio Francis, Stewart Paul, Garvey Brian; Work, Employment and Society Vol 37, pp. 897-915 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211060748
The de-securitisation of work and the logistic trap in Brazil's humanitarian zone: Portes Virginio Francis; International Labour Process Conference 2023, pp. 166 (2023)
Contemporary slave labour on the Amazonian frontier : the problems and politics of post rescue solidarity: Portes Virginio Francis, Garvey Brian, Leão Luís Henrique da Costa, Pistorio Bianca Vasquez; Globalizations Vol 19, pp. 937-954 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2022.2035946

More publications

Research

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Professional Activities

Superexploitation in the core and periphery. Does superexploitation also exist in the North?: Speaker; 3/8/2024
Challenges for social and labour protection in Brazil's humanitarian response: Recipient; 25/6/2024
European University Institute - Migration Policy Centre (MPC): Visiting researcher; 6/2024
Boundary Crossing: The Transnational Travels of Social Reproduction: Participant; 3/5/2024
Theories and Histories of Racial Capitalism: Participant; 24/4/2024
Decent Work for Displaced People: Organizing in Response to Labour Abuses of Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Colombia and Brazil: Participant; 17/4/2024

More professional activities

Projects

Securitisation of Nature, Displacement and Unfree labour in Brazil's Amazon: Portes Virginio, Francis (Principal Investigator); Leverhulme Early Career fellowship (ECF); 01-Oct-2021 - 30-Sep-2024
UKRI CoA Covid Extension: Garvey, Brian (Principal Investigator) Portes Virginio, Francis (Researcher) Cardesa-Salzmann, Antonio (Researcher); UKRI sponsored extension of projects affected by Covid-19; 01-Jun-2021 - 30-Sep-2021
So who is building sustainable development? Transforming exploitative labour along southern corridors of migration (ESRC Global Challenges): Portes Virginio, Francis (Researcher) Garvey, Brian (Principal Investigator) Stewart, Paul (Co-investigator) Alves, José (Co-investigator); The participatory research aims to investigate and transform the increasingly widespread link between the concentration of migrants in need of humanitarian protection along migration corridors in the Brazilian Amazonia region; the requirement of large and flexible workforces for large infrastructure projects including construction and agribusiness; exploitative labour conditions in these industries that that are part of ‘sustainable development’ agendas. The project engages workers from Brazil, Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela, Senegal and various other African states in order to:
document the influence of formal and informal agents on the migrant workers' journey and employment
identify deficits in dignified work and social protection
Collectively propose transformative solutions via a range of media;
facilitate direct social dialogue between migrant workers, project partners and government, industrial, labour and non-profit agencies,at state, regional and national level; 03-Sep-2018 - 26-Feb-2021