During a 2023 survey, around 35 percent of respondents interviewed in Brazil said they belonged to the middle class. Meanwhile, 24.3 percent of the interviewees defined their social class as "low" and 25.7 percent stated that they were part of the middle class.Furthermore, Brazil's Gini coefficient, an indicator that measures wealth distribution, shows Brazil is one of the most unequal countries in the Latin American region.

ABSTRACT The article presents a panorama of socioeconomic hierarchies in late Nineteenth-century Brazil. Income analysis of social classes underpins these echelons. Within a theoretical and historical approach focused on social class, the article reckons that the Brazilian Empire was relatively egalitarian in terms of wages. A broad expressiveness of the lower classes, rather than a hypothetical robustness of the middle or the upper classes, explains this equality. The analysis of purchasing power and patterns of consumption made it possible to identify the degree of precariousness of the popular classes, as well as the existence of mainly urban middle classes. Lastly, salary data on the upper classes should not hide concentration of wealth, a main characteristic of the Empire’s decay, which was largely due to a polarized structure of slave property.

In Brazil, **** percent of consumers earned at least the equivalent of the highest 40 percent of global income earners as of 2022 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. Those who earned at least the equivalent of the top 10 percent of global income earners stood at *** percent.

Against the background of the generalized reduction of poverty in the world, and particularly in Brazil, this article intends to gauge the socio-economic profile of Brazilian households that emerged from poverty and have been identified as integrating a "new middle class". Using indicators of standards of living from the 2008-2009 Survey on Family Budgets (POF/IBGE), we found out that, in contrast to what has been assumed on the basis of average income criteria, this social stratum is markedly heterogeneous, most of it being similar in their consumption patterns to the economically vulnerable or outright poor strata. So, we conclude that, from a sociological perspective that demands additional conditions besides income levels to identify social classes, it is a category mistake to call this social stratum a new middle class. We conjecture that this may be consequential in terms of policy priorities and choices.

Abstract Between 2001 and 2013, Brazil’s economy grew with income redistribution. A result of inflationary stability, minimum wage increase, credit expansion and the widening of social policies, this period was characterized by the upward mobility of dozens of millions of Brazilians. Economists, journalists, politicians and marketers heralded the end of endemic poverty and the incorporation of this population into a newly defined “middle class”. Drawing from a documental ethnography, and from interviews with experts, this article pursuits the archeology of this category, problematizing the taxonomic ways of its emergence and evanescence. We argue that the “new middle class” must be understood as a scientific, political, and economic assemblage – one that is performed through statistic, governmental, and marketing alignments. Such diffuse scales of knowledge and power crystallized discursive fronts that rendered economic mobility legible in a country traditionally known for its stagnation and inequality.

We aim to analyze the trajectory of poverty in Brazil and the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, from 1976 to 2015, considering the structural changes in the Brazilian economy and society and the metropolitan context’s particularities. The poverty line used was defined by double the level of income sufficient for the acquisition of food necessary to guarantee the individual’s social reproduction. We could observe that the poverty rate varied according to the economic situation, with differences in levels and intensity between the metropolis and the country. Currently, unlike decades ago, people living in poverty are generally younger, have higher levels of education, and work in occupations that represent more prominent social positions in the social structure, which may have important implications in the changes in expectations of overcoming this condition, especially in the metropolitan context.

Regardless of the employment status, the percentage of the population of Brazil whose average per capita income was below the poverty line experienced a downward trend between 2001 and 2014. In the case of the unemployed population, the share fell from 51.6 to 31.6 percent. However, the percentage of people in unemployment living under the poverty line has been oscillating since that year, and in 2023 the share stood at 38 percent. Furthermore, less than six percent of employees in Brazil were living under the poverty line that year.

This dataset contains longitudinal information on the socioprofessional composition of members of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies elected between 1998 and 2022. It includes occupational backgrounds, partisan and ideological alignments, and classification codes used in the analysis of political professionalization and class-based representation. The dataset was constructed from official electoral data provided by the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and processed with transparent coding procedures. Replication files include scripts for data cleaning, recoding of occupational categories, and statistical analysis (chi-square tests, Cramér’s V, multinomial logistic regression, and longitudinal stratified analyses). Together, these resources allow full reproducibility of the findings presented in the associated article, enabling scholars to explore patterns of recruitment, professionalization, and social representation in Brazilian democracy over nearly three decades.

Abstract: This paper analyzes the effects of social class on the educational performance of young Brazilians students. Our theoretical approach in this study is based on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of social class. We opted for a quantitative methodology using the database of the Basic Education Evaluation System (Saeb) tests carried out in 2013. We used descriptive statistics, correspondence analysis and multiple linear regression. Empirical results showed the persistence of the effects of social class on academic performance, although these results coexist with the impacts of variables related to schooling, individual life story and pedagogical aspects.

In 2023, the prevalence of extreme poverty among black men and women in Brazil was higher than that observed in other demographic groups. In particular, the rate of extreme poverty among black men reached two percent, which was the highest among all demographic groups.

Abstract The 1990s, seen as the second lost decade, presented low dynamics of production and of the labor market in Brazil and in the Metropolitan Region of Natal (Northeastern Brazil). In this article, we consider that the labor market shows that the social classes are becoming increasingly segmented. Following this perspective, the article was based on Santos (2002) to study the segmentation of the labor market as a proxy for positions and segments of social classes in the analyzed reality. The hypothesis that guides the article is that possession of material assets, as well as qualification and command positions, are crucial to take on better positions in the structure of classes from the distribution standpoint. The analysis of the empirical data allows to increase the level of trust in the formulated hypothesis.

Prior analyses of authoritarian populism have linked it to hypotheses referring to cultural backlash and negative partisanship, suggesting that conservative values and hatred of opposing parties fuel the desire for strong leadership. This article adds to the previous literature by testing the influence of social class resentment on Bolsonaro coming to power in Brazil. Based on the AmericasBarometer 2018/19 survey, the analysis highlights the central role of the rejection of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party) in explaining the propensity to vote for the far-right candidate, and to a lesser extent, the influence of authoritarian values in this case study. Our findings lend some support to the hypothesis of social class resentment as well. Social class resentment was found to significantly moderate the relationship between anti-PT sentiment and voting behavior, which sheds light on Bolsonaro’s ability to capture resentful voters who were disposed to subordinate social redistribution to the defense of previously acquired privileges.

The files making up this database correspond to a household survey conducted in 2016 as part of a larger investigation into the lifeways and political subjectivities of Brazil’s “once-rising poor,” the demographic sector comprised of poor and working-class people exposed to various forms of socio-economic mobility in the early 21st century. In the corresponding methodology paper published in the Latin America Research Review (see “Publication” below for citation specifics), we reflect on the challenges of maintaining a critical perspective on class labels and relations that were the subject of intense contestation at the time. Next, we introduce the resultant survey sample (n=1,204), highlighting the variables captured. Rather than an exhaustive summary of all variables measured, we establish the demographic profile, mobility experiences, and political values, attitudes, and behaviors of our sample. As we show, the portrait that emerges for this sector is one of economic precarity, heterogeneous experiences of socioeconomic mobility (and non-mobility) over the past two decades, and significant alienation from formal politics. Here you will find: the raw BORP dataset, original survey questionnaires (in English and Portuguese), and a codebook (in English).

Buyers: by Social Class: AB data was reported at 32.490 % in 2024. This stayed constant from the previous number of 32.490 % for 2023. Buyers: by Social Class: AB data is updated yearly, averaging 47.180 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 79.010 % in 2000 and a record low of 32.490 % in 2024. Buyers: by Social Class: AB data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Association of Eletronic Commerce. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Domestic Trade – Table BR.HF002: E-commerce: Buyers Profile.

Conducted in 1973-1974 in Brazil, this survey was designed to measure two sets of respondents' preferences regarding salient policy issues, their evaluations of political life and government performance, and their conceptions of relationships between themselves and their representatives in labor unions and in the political arena at large. Interview schedules for each group of respondents are nearly identical, but the sampling frames are very different. Therefore, the data from the separate samples are supplied as Part 1 (Mass Sample) and Part 2 (Union Sample) in two separate files. Variables include respondents' preferences as to which course of action the government should take in each of a series of policy domains, ranging from birth control and income redistribution to the limits on political opposition and governmental controls over organized labor. There are variables indicating respondents' opinions elicited on several current issues of controversy, including the political role of the military, censorship, and the system of indirect elections. The survey also contains data on the respondents' degree of organizational involvement of unionized workers, including variables pertaining to their participation in sindicatos (unions), their evaluation of the performance of the sindicato leadership, and indications of how the represented might hold the leadership to account for their actions. Additional variables deal with membership evaluation of sindicato functions and influence, respondents' party identification, past electoral choices, and evaluations of post-1964 government policies. Other variables include respondents' interest in politics and in the operation of government, as well as their perceptions of the effect of government on their lives. Variables provided by the interviewers include perceptions of the respondents' interest in the interview, the sincerity with which questions were answered, and the presence and behavior of other persons at the interview. A full range of background information is also contained in the data collection, including variables on respondents' age, sex, race, religion, educational level, occupation, income, marital status, birthplace, father's education and occupation, migration, and media use.

Abstract: Introduction: There are still many economic and racial barriers for black and indigenous peoples regarding access to a university degree in Brazil. Although Brazil is mistakenly considered a racial democracy, black people, indigenous peoples and those of low social status are the most affected by such difficulties regarding access to the university. Medical schools are traditionally attended by white, wealthy and upper-middle-class groups, although 54% of Brazilians consider themselves to be African descendants. To deal with this scenario, since 2013, 50% of all vacancies in public universities have been reserved for low social classes, indigenous peoples and African descendants. Our objective was to describe the socioeconomic and racial profile of those attending a public medical school in the state of Rio de Janeiro during a five-year period, analyzing the associations between the Brazilian segregationist structure and inclusion policies. Method: A census study was carried out, including all groups that entered the medical school at a public university in the state of Rio de Janeiro between 2013 and 2017. We applied a self-administered questionnaire that addressed social, ethnic, economic and university admission aspects. The data were analyzed by a simple description of the frequencies and by bivariate analysis. Results: The results show that the majority profile is white, with an annual income higher than US$ 8,640, coming from a private school, with financial support from the family, both parents with higher education and no gender difference. As for the inclusion of non-white people into the course, the current quota system has not significantly increased their presence. Conclusion: We conclude that racial inclusion policies subordinated to economic ones seem to be a barrier to the entry of non-whites to medical school, contributing to racial inequality.

This dataset contains files for the replication of "Racial Social Norms among Brazilian Students: Academic Performance, Social Status and Racial Identification". Data comes from the project Attitudes and Relationships among Primary and High School Students. The project interviewed more than 4 thousand students in five Brazilian public schools. It contains information about the students, their beliefs, and friendship ties between them. Paper Abstract: Studies in the United States show that minority students might face a trade-off between better academic performance and peer acceptance, the so-called ``acting white''. This paper investigates the relationship between grades and social status in five Brazilian schools and how it differs between racial groups. Social status is measured using friendship ties among students, assigning higher status to students more central in the network. The racial composition of friendship ties is diverse, although friendships tends to favor racial peers, especially for black students. We find a positive correlation between grades and social status of nonwhite students that is driven by their status among their white classmates. This differs from the pattern observed in the US, where a negative correlation between minorities' grades and their status among racial peers is not compensated by their status among white students. We also investigate how academic performance is associated with racial identity choice conditional on skin color, finding a weak negative relationship between higher grades and the odds of classification as mixed-race.

Abstract This paper analyses the discursive construction of Brazil’s new middle class (also called new class C) in the Brazilian telenovela (soap opera) I Love Paraisópolis, applying French semiotics as theoretical reference. Therefore, the first chapter of this telenovela, broadcasted by Rede Globo, in 2015, is taken as corpus. In the story, the main character, Marizete, lives in Paraisópolis favela, in São Paulo. It is noticeable, in this case, that the new class C does not play a peripheral part, but stars the central plot in the script. Thereby, acknowledging that the Brazil’s new middle class has privileged locus in the favela the telenovela is named after, the scenes are analyzed concerning the narrative and discursive levels of the generative path of meaning. Finally, taking into account Landowski’s (2002) model about the modes of relation to the otherness, it is presented how the relations between city and favela are established, also considering some elements of visual language. This pathway, therefore, allows to understand some of the social configurations in I Love Paraisópolis, considering, evidently, this society as an effect of meaning.

Abstract: The occupational specialization of social groups is closely tied to gender, racial, and class identities, segmenting the labor market into perceived White/Black and male/female roles and skills sets. Using data from 100 million formal workers in Brazil (2003–2019), we examine patterns of occupational segmentation across 426 occupations, identifying distinct skill demands and socioeconomic statuses linked to race/skin color and gender. Classifications of “male” or “female” occupations are shaped by required skills, while distinctions between “White” and “Black” occupations reflect socioeconomic status and historical inequalities. Women and men are segmented by gender-associated skill sets, such as engineering versus caregiving skills. Within these skill sets, strong hierarchical segregation persists, with Black individuals disproportionately concentrated in lower socioeconomic status positions. Despite recent socioeconomic changes, occupational specialization patterns have remained stable. Our findings highlight that the strong association between race and lower-status occupations must be addressed for a more inclusive societyFunding: We acknowledge the financial support of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), in particular processes 406943/2021-4 and 315441/2021-6.In case of any questions related with the content of this repository, please contact:Ben-Hur Cardoso (benhur.phys@gmail.com)Laís Fernanda S. Souza (lais.fssouza@gmail.com)Flavio L. Pinheiro (fpinheiro@novaims.unl.pt)Dominik Hartmann (dominik.hartmann@ufsc.br)ContentsThis repository contains the following contents:In the Regressions folder, we share the original regression tables supporting the robustness results shown in the Supplementary Material.The Dataset folder contains the minimum data necessary to reproduce all the results in the main manuscript and supplementary information.The Code folder contains two documents with the necessary code to reproduce all the results and visualizations in the main manuscript and supplementary informationDataset Folder DescriptionThe core datasets used in this study are:- CENSUS_data_by_occupation_socialgroup_year.csv: The Relative Specialization (RS) of each ISCO-08 occupation code in relation to its social group in each year, using Brazilian Census Data.- RAIS_data_by_occupation_socialgroup_year.csv: The Relative Specialization (RS) of each ISCO-08 occupation code within social group each year, using RAIS Data.- RAIS_data_by_region_college_age_occupation_socialgroup_year.csv: The Relative Specialization (RS) of each ISCO-08 occupation code with social group in each year, region, college, and age group, using RAIS Data.- RAIS_data_by_age_occupation_socialgroup_year.csv: The Relative Specialization (RS) of each ISCO-08 occupation code within social group in each year and age group, using RAIS Data.- data_by_occupation.csv: for each ISCO-08 occupation code we have-- isco08_label_en: english label of occupation-- phi_SX: the intensity of skill X-- theta_SX: the specialization of skill X-- isei: The ISEI of occupation-- ISEIa: The regressed Adjusted ISEISkills X correspond to a single-digit (from 1 to 8) encoding that refers tocommunication, collaboration, and creativityinformation skillsassisting and caringmanagement skillsworking with computershandling and movingconstructingworking with machinery and specialized equipmentAdditional data files include:- isco08_data.csv: extends the data_by_occupations.csv dataset with the RS by gender/race of each occupation- isco08_skill_similarity.csv, netskill.csv, and node_meta.csv provide information on the skill similarity structure between occupations and meta information at the node level (occupation), compiled from the other datasets mentioned above.- Network_layout.gdf encodes the network layout used to draw the networks.Code Folder DescriptionThis folder is composed of two primary documents:A Jupyter Notebook that contains all the code to generate the main visualizations of the manuscript and regression analysis.A Wolfram Mathematica notebook in which we perform the PCA analysis and generate the Graph/Network visualizations.These two notebooks read and process the shared datasets.

The dataset is a compilation of statistics on Brazilian education in the year 2021. All data are official and can be found on the INEP website, a public educational research agency: https://www.gov.br/inep/pt-br/areas-de-atuacao/pesquisas-estatisticas-e-indicadores. More about the dataset, the columns and how it's collected will be found here: medium article.

Columns description: Unidade Geográfica: indicates the Brazilian state or region.

FUND AD G1, FUND AD G2, FUND AD G3, FUND AD G4 , FUND AD G5: describes the percentage of students at elementary education who fall into the corresponding groups of 'adequacy of public teacher'.

MED AD G1, MED AD G2, MED AD G3, MED AD G4 , MED AD G5: describes the percentage of students at secondary educationwho fall into the corresponding groups of 'adequacy of public teacher'.

FUND ED G1, FUND ED G2, FUND ED G3, FUND ED G4 , FUND ED G5, FUND ED G6: describes the percentage of students at elementary education who fall into the corresponding groups of 'teacher effort'.

MED ED G1, MED ED G2, MED ED G3, MED ED G4 , MED ED G5, MEDED G6: describes the percentage of students at secondary educationwho fall into the corresponding groups of 'teacher effort'.

INF MA, FUND MA, MED MA: describes the average of students per class inearly childhood education (INF), elementary education (FUND), and secondary education(MED).

INF MH, FUND MH, MED MH: describes the average of daily classroom hours inearly childhood education (INF), elementary education (FUND), and secondary education(MED).

INF DCS, FUND DCS, MED DCS: describes the percentage of teachers with higher education in early childhood education (INF), elementary education (FUND), and secondary education(MED).

Remuneração_Média: teacher average salary.

Carga_Horário_Semanal: average of how many hours of teacher work.

Remuneração_40hrs_semanais: salary if 40 working hours per week are considered.

Média_INSE: indicates the mean group of which the students belong.

INSE1, INSE2, INSE3, INSE4, INSE5, INSE6, INSE7, INSE8: describes the percentage of students that falls into the corresponding groups of INSE indices.

Reg Baixa, Reg BaixaMedia, Reg MediaAlta, Reg Alta: indicates the percentage of teachers who have low (Reg Baixa), somewhat low (Reg BaixaMedia), somewhat high(Reg MediaAlta), and high regularity (Reg Alta).

FUND Nota_Matemática, FUND Nota_Português: average of math and portuguese grades at primary education.

Nota Média Padronizada: average considering math and portuguese grades.

FUND ID-S, MED ID-S: describes the age-grade distortion rates in elementary education (FUND) and secondary education(MED).

FUND Apr, MED Apr: describes the percentage of approved students in elementary education (FUND) and secondary education(MED) .

FUND Rep, MED Rep: describes the percentage of reproved students in elementary education (FUND) and secondary education(MED) .

FUND Aban, MED Aban: describes the percentage of students who left school in elementary education (FUND) and secondary education(MED) .