Today the market in Spain or Portugal may suck, but there was a time that it was booming, and that was the time where the pilots went. I remember TAM pilots going to Portugalia because of a lack of Portuguese ones. The planes had to fly. There were no pilots. Foreign work force necessary.
This is not the scenario today in Brazil. The fact that there are so many of us unwilling to come back, or someone like me who is seriously thinking about China, should say something.
We have our differences on the opinion about working here, but I would not call it xenophobia. Each country have their own regulations. I flew a lot to Madrid, and saw a lot of Brazilians being denied entry. There were some cases that were abusive, but in a lot of them Spain (and other EU countries) were deporting people that would be there illegally. That is the country's regulations. The same here about the hiring. If there would be a lack of working force, foreigners would be welcomed.
About the BS... When one goes to China to fly for one of those bootleg airlines, they know they have to cope with BS. It is a money-BS trade.
TAM is on Star Alliance. It is the flagship carrier. Yet, is managed like a back yard bus company.
Some protectionism is good. For example, had the US been protectionist for their internal market, China would not be as big as it is today, and they would not be facing depression.
This is a nice discussion, but I would like it to come back to living in China. Unfortunately, that is something I am looking forward for. And if I do, I will take my whole family. That should tell something for anyone considering working here.