SALT LAKE CITY — Brazilians and Brazilian Americans in Utah are banding together to boost business development in the region.
“There's a strong entrepreneurial spirit in our community. They're dreamers,” says Erivan Santos, a South American native who now lives in Utah. “The goal is to support and guide our community to become entrepreneurs.”
A cornerstone of the effort is the revival of the Utah Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce, and Santos and other group leaders gathered at the Utah State Capitol on Thursday to officially announce the effort, along with Governor Spencer Cox, Rep. Burgess Owens, chamber leaders and members of Utah's Brazilian community.
“We want Utah to be a place where everyone feels welcome and everyone feels like they have a chance to succeed. That's the American dream,” Cox told the crowd. “It doesn't matter if you're from Brazil or Mexico or you've been here for six or seven generations. We don't care. We want to make sure you have the opportunity to follow your dreams.”
According to Carolina Herrin, the chamber's executive director, there are roughly 30,000 Brazilians and Brazilian Americans, making it the fourth-largest racial and ethnic community in the country after people with roots in Mexico, El Salvador and Peru.
When Santos came to Utah in 2006, the Brazilian community numbered about 3,500 people.
“We're a vibrant, growing community,” Santos said.
The chamber is partnering with the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, the World Trade Center Utah and other business groups as part of the effort. Many Utahns who emigrated from Brazil run businesses there, and Herrin said the goal is to encourage that kind of entrepreneurial spirit among them in the U.S.
Statistics released Thursday by the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute estimated that Utah exported about $203.2 million worth of goods to Brazil in 2023. Brazil is the state's 13th-largest export market. Whatever the numbers, Cox thinks two-way trade could grow even more.
“We see Brazil as one of the untapped countries for two-way trade with Utah,” he said, “and we truly believe that together we have an opportunity to significantly increase that trade in the future.”
Santos said the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce had been around for some time, but its activities were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort to revive the chamber began about six months ago, and on May 22, Fatima Isitani, the Brazilian Consulate General in Los Angeles who covers Utah, visited Salt Lake City for dinner as part of the effort. Herrin said the Brazilian Consulate General supports Utah's efforts, as does Felipe Cusnir of the Brazilian-California Chamber of Commerce.
Utah has about 32 chamber of commerce groups, said Franz Kolb, director of international trade for the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, “but we only have one Brazilian chamber of commerce, and it looks like it's going to be the most fun one,” Kolb joked at Thursday's event, alluding to Brazil's reputation as a country that loves to party and celebrate.
