Abstract The purpose of the present article is to examine self-employment and a sample of micro-enterprises of Brazilian immigrants in Toronto, Canada, and to unveil their social networking mechanisms, the influence of their culture, and human capital. The methodology encompassed the application of 74 questionnaires to Brazilian-Canadian entrepreneurs and 42 semi-structured interviews, aiming at understanding their experiences and relationships. The contributions include stating economic insecurity, political instability, and violence as reasons for migration and showing that social capital is essential for starting and developing a business as entrepreneurs often were driven out of necessity due to barriers in the labor market. As an exploratory study, the article is limited to discussing descriptive aspects of the Brazilian community of entrepreneurs. However, its implications might encompass new studies that involve creating migration policies for newcomers, longitudinal studies, or comparisons with other ethnicities.

Resumen El propósito del artículo es examinar el empleo por cuenta propia y una muestra de microempresas de inmigrantes brasileños en Toronto, Canadá, revelar sus mecanismos de redes sociales, la influencia de la cultura y del capital humano. La metodología abarcó la aplicación de 74 cuestionarios a empresarios brasileño-canadienses y 42 entrevistas semiestructuradas, con el objetivo de comprender sus experiencias y relaciones vividas. Los resultados incluyen indicar como causas de la migración a la inseguridad económica, la inestabilidad política y la violencia, así como demostrar que el capital social es fundamental para el inicio y el desarrollo de los negocios, viéndose motivados a emprender sus propios negocios por necesidad, debido a barreras en el mercado laboral. Al ser un estudio exploratorio, el artículo se limita a discutir aspectos descriptivos de la comunidad brasileña de empresarios. Sin embargo, sus implicaciones podrían abarcar nuevos estudios que impliquen la formulación de políticas migratorias para recién llegados, estudios longitudinales o comparaciones con otras etnias.

A união civil entre pessoas do mesmo sexo é analisada neste ensaio discutindo-se as raízes do preconceito anti-homossexual e a luta pela cidadania de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgêneros no Brasil, elencando-se as diferentes manifestações da homofobia em nosso meio social. Desconstruímos, a seguir, as opiniões contrárias ao casamento homossexual, argumentando com evidências etho-históricas a justeza de se estender direitos iguais aos casais do mesmo sexo, inclusive o reconhecimento legal da união civil.

The civil union between persons of the same sex is analyzed in this essay through the discussion of the roots of the anti-homosexual prejudice and the fight for the citizenship of gays, lesbians and transgenders in Brazil, and through listing the different manifestations of homofobia in our social environment. We deconstruct the contrary opinions against the homosexual marriage, justifying with etho-historical evidences the extending of equal rights to the couples of the same sex, including the legal recognition of the civil union.