As formas atuais do trabalho escravo no Brasil: novas determinações a partir da crise de acumulação contemporânea

Abstract

Slavery is a form of labor exploitation that has been present at various moments in human history and continues to this day, albeit with different determinations. In Brazil, slavery marked the colonial period, characterizing a phase of capitalist accumulation through the extraction of surplus value from enslaved labor. With the consolidation of the capitalist mode of production, the establishment of "free" wage labor became crucial for the production and reproduction of capital. Although free labor is an essential condition for capitalist sociability, forms of labor exploitation that go beyond the wage relationship reinvent themselves on new bases. Contemporary slavery in Brazilian history has mostly been present on the margins of our territory and in rural areas, predominantly in economic sectors related to agribusiness, extractivism, and agriculture. Currently, particularly since the early 2000s, we observe new characteristics of this phenomenon. Major national and international fashion brands that occupy large urban centers have been using cheap and clandestine labor to produce their clothing, often under degrading working and living conditions. As a result, slavery is no longer confined to rural areas but is found in places of significant economic importance for the country, such as São Paulo. In light of this, we aim to investigate contemporary slavery in the Brazilian fashion industry from 2010 to 2022, seeking to highlight the determinations that permeate this phenomenon today, especially in the context of the capital crisis.