International Migration and Federative Co-ordination in Brazil: São Paulo and Porto Alegre Case Studies between 2013 and 2016

Abstract This article analyses the co-ordination between national and municipal governments in Brazil regarding migration policy between the years of 2013 and 2016, using the concept of policy institutional arrangements and case studies of two Brazilian cities, São Paulo and Porto Alegre. The results reveal that the City of São Paulo government has advanced considerably in the sense of institutionalisation of the subject in the municipality by decentralising skills and assuming responsibilities for its migrant population, with relative autonomy from federal government. The City of Porto Alegre government shows a less institutionalised arrangement, with little technical and financial capability, less autonomy from federal and state governments, and great emphasis on civil society participation. Finally, it is advocated that the regulation of the New Migration Law may deal with a series of problems in the current federative arrangement, constituting federative-articulated policies, with greater capacity for public policy implementation, and more active participation of subnational governments in the development of the national migration policy.