The childhood of Bolivian children on the Brazil–Bolivia border: experiences, territorialities, and rights in transborder contexts

Vivências, territorialidades e direitos em contextos transfronteiriços

Abstract

On the western border between Brazil and Bolivia, Bolivian children cross the international boundary  daily to attend Brazilian schools and, in many cases, to accompany their parents to work. In these movements,  not only bodies and documents circulate, but also games, languages, and ways of experiencing childhood. This  article analyzes the experiences of Bolivian children on the Brazil–Bolivia border, focusing on their playful  practices, territorialities, and access to rights, especially education. The study adopts a qualitative, documentary, 

and observational approach, without interviews. The findings show that, despite legal guarantees, bureaucratic, 

linguistic, and discriminatory barriers persist, while children actively produce their own ways of inhabiting the 

border through play and everyday practices.