Personal statement
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’ (2021-2024).
Prior to this position, Francis was a postdoctoral researcher in a participatory project funded by ESRC (2018-2021). His work examined the formation of southern corridors of migration in the Brazilian Amazonian region and the incorporation of migrant workers in need of Humanitarian protection into industries that are part of ‘sustainable development’ agendas.
Francis has research interests in the areas of political economy, global commodity chains, forced displacement, labour migration, slave labour and socio-environmental conflicts with a particular focus in Brazil.
He also values public engagement and community participation in research and decision-making process. He has worked closely with migrants, refugees and indigenous communities in Latin America, mediating conflict with governmental and non-governmental institutions.
Prizes and awards
- Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
- Recipient
- 23/5/2021
- 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.
Professional activities
- The (in)securitization of migration in the Amazon frontier: Logistics, deregulation and the degradation of Work
- Speaker
- 26/10/2022
- So who is building sustainable development?
- Invited speaker
- 12/10/2022
- Free land camp: defending the rights of indigenous peoples
- Participant
- 4/4/2022
- Forced displacement and Slave Labour in Brazil's Amazon
- Visitor
- 4/4/2022
- Precarious work, Precarious life: Unemployment and work in the context of neoliberalism
- Participant
- 8/9/2021
- FAO Food Summit Independent Dialogue: Defence of agrifood systems
- Member of programme committee
- 9/8/2021
More professional activities
Projects
- Securitisation of Nature, Displacement and Unfree labour in Brazil's Amazon
- Portes Virginio, Francis Vinicius (Principal Investigator)
- Leverhulme Early Career fellowship (ECF)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2024
- UKRI CoA Covid Extension
- Garvey, Brian (Principal Investigator) Portes Virginio, Francis Vinicius (Researcher) Cardesa-Salzmann, Antonio (Researcher)
- UKRI sponsored extension of projects affected by Covid-19
- 01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2021
- UKRI CoA Covid extension
- Garvey, Brian (Principal Investigator) Portes Virginio, Francis Vinicius (Researcher)
- UKRI sponsored extension of projects affected by Covid-19
- 01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2021
- Agrochemical use in new agricultural commodity and bioenergy production,
- Garvey, Brian (Principal Investigator) Portes Virginio, Francis Vinicius (Principal Investigator)
- Engagement in Scotland and Berlin regarding hazardous toxin use and trade between EU and Brazil towards reduction in health implications. With UNESP-Presidente Prudente; Angeliki Lysimachou, Director of Pesticide Action Network EuropePAN-Europe; Angelika Hilbeck Department of Environmental Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) Chair of European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility; Brian Wynne, Professor Lancaster Environment Centre
- 01-Jan-2018 - 31-Jan-2019
- So who is building sustainable development? Transforming exploitative labour along southern corridors of migration (ESRC Global Challenges)
- Portes Virginio, Francis Vinicius (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-Jan-2018 - 26-Jan-2021
More projects
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Work, Employment and Organisation
Duncan Wing
Duncan Wing
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