In Brazil You Have Degrading Labor and Then, Way Down, Slavery

Most of the victims of slave labor in Brazil are illiterate males, according to Marcelo Campos, adviser in the Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment’s Department of Work Inspection.

These men work mostly cutting down forests, preparing forests and fields to plant forage grass, and tending livestock. Last year Pará was the state with the largest number of workers freed by the Ministry’s Special Mobile Inspection Group: 1,128 altogether.

Campos observes that the definitions of slave labor and degrading labor conditions are frequently confused. "Slave labor is when workers are prevented from leaving their jobs. They can’t tell their boss they won’t be back to work the next day. If they do, they will be beaten, and their lives may even be threatened," he informs.

Under degrading labor conditions, according to Campos, individuals are free to break their contracts. "They are deprived of all their workers’ rights, as in the case of slave labor, but, in effect, if they so desire, they are not obliged to return to work the following day," he explains.

According to Campos, workers subjected to slave labor conditions are inveigled by promises of employment and a better life. They are recruited by landowners or go-betweens.

"They [the recruiters] go to where there are workers available, most of the time in other states, and they hold out false promises of good wages, good housing, and good working conditions. They delude them. They take these workers to the farms, maybe even advancing them some money," he warns.

"When they get there, the workers realize that nothing they were promised was true. And they are blocked when they try to leave."

Agência Brasil

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil Has Neglected Its Railroads for 25 Years

Brazil’s Presidential Chief of Staff (ministra da Casa Civil), Dilma Rousseff, says that completion ...

Brazil: How to Shop for Food

It is not easy to find products at Brazilian supermarkets. There are so many ...

Defending the Amazon

Cavalcanti is the author of three projects proposing a referendum, as the Constitution determines, ...

Polls See Dilma and Marina Tied for President. But Marina Would Win a Runoff

A poll on vote intentions released by DataFolha shows current President Dilma Rousseff (of ...

Brazil Sends Hollywood Movie on Homosexuality to Vie for an Oscar

The Way He Looks (Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, in the original Portuguese), directed ...

Brazil Wants to Know Where Brazilians Keep Their Racism

The 117th anniversary of the Lei Àurea (Golden Law), which ended slavery in Brazil, ...

The Result in Sí£o Paulo : a Second Election

Contrary to the opinion polls, the PSDB’s José Serra swept into the second round ...

World’s Best Player Is Brazilian Ronaldinho, Again

Brazilian soccer ace Ronaldinho Gaúcho won his second straight FIFA World Player of the ...

Does Brasília Matter? A Close Look at Rhetoric and Reality in Washington

The revelation that the U.S. National Security Agency has been reading the text messages ...

Brazilian Congress Once Again Snubs Venezuela’s Chavez

The opposition in the Brazilian Congress once again delayed on Wednesday, February 4, the ...