Precarious Migrants in a Sharing Economy| #Nosomosdesertores: Activism and Narratives of the Cuban Diaspora on Twitter

Authors

  • Denise Maria Cogo Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing
  • Deborah Rodríguez Santos Universidade Federal Fluminense

Keywords:

Cuban migrants, social media, activism, Twitter

Abstract

This article analyzes how Cuban migrants use social media to produce and share narratives that solicit and negotiate rights related to Cuban migration policies. In the context of a reordering of relations between the Cuban state and its diaspora, we focus on activism of the collective “No Somos Desertores” (We Are Not Deserters) on Twitter. This group strives to give visibility to and denounce the banishment of Cuban professionals who abandoned international collaboration missions coordinated by the Cuban government, and to influence migratory policies that restrict the right to mobility of these professionals. The results reveal three narrative dimensions of the collective’s activism for migratory rights: (1) national belonging and the right to mobility, (2) the family consequences of their banishment, and (3) proposals to address Cuban migratory issues.

Author Biographies

Denise Maria Cogo, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing

Full Professor in the Master's Degree and PhD in Communication and Consumption Practices of the Superior School of Advertising and Marketing (ESPM), São Paulo, Brazil. Researcher level 1C from CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) Associate Researcher in the Autonomous University of Barcelona Communication Institute (InCom-UAB), Spain.  Areas of research– Media and transnational migration; Media, consumption and citizenship. denisecogo2@gmail.com

Deborah Rodríguez Santos, Universidade Federal Fluminense

PhD candidate, with a scholarship from Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES),  of the  Communication  Graduate Program at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Master in Communication  Sciences  by  the same  institution.  Bachelor  in  Communication  Studies  by Universidad de La Habana. She currently develops a research focused in social media uses of Cuban expats in Brazil. Her research interests involve social media uses, narratives, migration and identity construction on the internet.

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Published

2022-11-21

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Special Sections

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