Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
in Brazilian Agriculture
Author(s): William S. Saint
Source: Latin American Research Review, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1981), pp. 91-110
Published by: The Latin American Studies Association
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THE WAGES
OF MODERNIZATION:
William
S. Saint
TheFordFoundation
INTRODUCTION
AND BACKGROUND
91
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phenomenon, qualified or expanded this characterization(e.g., Vassimon 1969, Gonzales and Bastos 1975). The definitionused here will be
the synthesisofferedby Gomes da Silva (1975):
. . .a salariedruralworkerresidingoutsidetheagricultural
property,
generally
in the urbanperipheryof nearbytownsor cities,who may or may not be
so as to receivelaborlegislation
and socialsecurity
properly
registered
benefits;
who is paid on a piecework,task-completed
or dailybasis;and who generally
travelssomedistanceeach dayto hisplaceofwork,usuallybytruck.(P.8)
A principal distinguishingfeatureof the boias friasis that they
are frequentlyagriculturalworkers with urban residence. This characteristic,also noted in similarstudies in othercountries(e.g., Dotson and
Dotson 1978, Wilkinson 1963), has led some researchers to label this
social group as "rurban" (Gonzales and Bastos 1975, p. 12) and note the
"de-ruralization"of the agriculturallabor force(Brant1979, p. 33).
Agriculturalmodernizationprocesses in Brazil have perhaps had
theirmost profoundimpact in the state of Sao Paulo, and much of the
existing research on boias frias is specific to that state. This research
interestwas stimulated in part by Maria Conceiqao D'Incao e Mello's
landmark study, The Boia Fria: Accumulationand Misery (1975), which
representsthe firstmajor attemptat combininghistoricaland field investigation of rural day laborers. It remains the most comprehensive
single referenceon the subject.
Focusing primarilyon the impoverished Alta Sorocabana region
of Sao Paulo, D'Incao e Mello describes the historicaltransitionfroman
agriculturalproduction systembased largelyon coffeeto one in which
cattleraisingand commercialcottoncultivationpredominate.As a result
of this transition,organizationof the productionsystemalso changed.
Patron-clientrelationsbetween landowners and residenttenantfarmers
(called colonos)were graduallyreplaced by an increasinglycapitalistagriculturebased on mechanization, modern inputs, and temporarywage
labor. Temporarylabor was especially employed duringperiods of peak
labor demand at cottonharvest,which requiresmuch greatertimeliness
of executionthan the traditionalcoffeegathering.
This substitutionprocess occurred over a forty-yearperiod between 1930 and 1970. As the configurationof coffeeplantations with
theirassociated subsistence tenant-farmerlabor force was substituted
by the relativelyless labor-intensivesystemsof cattleand cotton,rural
residents were forcedto seek employmentin nearby cities and towns,
therebyremovingthem fromon-farmproductiveactivityand contributing to the growingmarginalpopulation in urban areas.2 Because of the
large numberof ex-ruralunemployed and the cyclicalhigh demands for
labor, rural landowners found it economically more advantageous to
transportday laborers fromthe towns to the farmsthan to maintaina
92
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LatinAmericanResearchReview
TA BL E 1 Population
Economically
Active
inAgriculture
in1970according
toRural
orUrbanResidence,
forSelected
Brazilian
States
State
Pernambuco
Sao Paulo
Parana
Goias
Urban
Rural
Total
100,279
346,896
105,780
76,134
13.1
26.6
7.4
14.5
664,440
954,934
1,333,058
447,983
86.9
73.4
92.6
85.5
764,719
1,301,830
1,438,838
524,117
100
100
100
100
Source:GonzalezandBastos(1975),
p. 11.
(Martins1978). During the 1970-75 period, the numberof agriculturally
employed women and childrenin the BrazilianNortheastincreased by 7
percent(Rezende 1978, p. 13; author's calculationsbased on 1975 census
data). In the same span, overall child labor participationin Sao Paulo
agriculturegrew by 21 percent. Concomitantly,the absolute number of
childrenin the boia friabrigades tripledduring these years from11,814
to 33,220 (Antuniassi 1980).
These descriptivestudies have only begun to probe the causes of
increased on-farmchild labor use. Economic advantage has been offered
as the principalexplanation,since children'swages are generallyhalfofadult rates. However, this interpretationcould be enriched by a fuller
considerationof household survival strategiesin the contextof deteriorating terms of exchange for rural workers, and associated migration
patternsthat attractyoung adults fromthe farmfamilywork forceinto
unskilled urban employment.
Women represent a larger proportion of the agriculturalwork
forcethan do children(Guimaraes 1978), and theyparticipateactivelyas
temporarywage laborers. In her well-known study of a women's rural
labor gang, Verena Martinez-Alier(1977) notes that these women work
outside the home because their husbands' salaries are insufficientto
sustain the family.This situationis largelytheresultofthe family'sruralurban migration.Whereas previouslythese women participatedin subsistence agriculturalproductionas an extensionof theirdomesticactivities, this is no longer possible in an urban environment.As a family
survival strategy,the principalrecourse is the "sale" of women's labor
power along withthatof the men.
The difficulty
faced by urban familiesin sustainingthemselveson
one salaryis clearlyregisteredin Oliveira's empiricalstudy (1978) ofboia
fria familysurvival strategies,which to my knowledge is the only existing example of this methodological approach. Of 194 familiesinterviewed, 78 percentcontainedtwo or moreworkingmembers.One result
of increased formalemploymentby women was found to be a change in
reproductivebehavior in favorof smallerfamilies.6
94
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conperiod.However,after1966the totalnumberremainedrelatively
in
the
frias
of
boias
representation
the
proportionate
although
stant,
laborforcecontinuedtoriseas theresultofsharpdeclinesin
agricultural
tenantlaborers(colonos),
the numberof residentworkers(camaradas),
(Grazianoda Silva 1977).8
(parceiros)
and sharecroppers
clearthatmanyof
At the same time,it has becomeincreasingly
or
are eitherunderemployed
wage laborersin agriculture
thetemporary
seasonallyunemployedmembersof smallfarmfamilies(Moura 1978,
in thestates
Wanderley
1978).An extensivefieldsurveyofsmallfarmers
wage work
of SRo Paulo and Minas Geraisascertainedthattemporary
40 percentof annual familyincome (FIPE
contributed
approximately
1975).A smallersurveyoffamilyfarmsin theReconcavoregionofBahia
wage
indicatedthatmanyhouseholdmembersengagedin supplemental
weeksa year(Saint1977b,p.
forperiodsofsixto fifteen
labor,generally
of
ofearlierinterpretations
have forceda rethinking
164).Thesefindings
socialphenomenonwithina broaderprocess
theboia friaas a transitory
modernizaofruralproletarianization.
Indeed,in thefaceofagricultural
wage labor,and major
tion,increaseduse of all typesof agricultural
farm(ministructural
changesin ruralareas,theBraziliansmall-family
resilientand adaptable
itselfto be remarkably
fundia)has demonstrated
(Grazianoda Silva 1978b,Brant1979).
detailedstudyoftemporary
wage
Thecontinuedand increasingly
thattheboia friais notthehomogeneousgroup
laborhas demonstrated
has been made to
it was once thoughtto be. In fact,at leastone effort
developa typologyoftheseworkers.Grazianoda Silva (1978a)distinguishesthreemainsubgroups:(1) the permanentboia friawho works
theentireyear,generallyas a memberofa fixedgroup;(2) the
virtually
sporadicboia fria-oftenminors,womenor theaged-who worksone
or twomonthsa yearduringperiodsofpeak demand;and (3) theintershiftsbetweenruraland urbanemboia fria,who periodically
mittent
dependingon availablejob opportunities.
ployment
At thispoint,it shouldbe notedthatmanyof theabove studies
The
have reliedon secondarydata sourcesthathave certainlimitations.
de EconomiaAgricultura
used sourcesaretheInstituto
mostcommonly
(IEA) in Sao Paulo, the InstitutoNacional de Colonizaqaoe Reforma
Brasilierode Geografiae Estatistica
Agraria(INCRA),and theInstituto
5,500
(IBGE).TheIEA conductsa yearlysamplesurveyofapproximately
to forma
by farmsize. These data are thenextrapolated
farmsstratified
forall farmsin the state.This procedure
configuration
distributional
createstwo difficulties.
First,once-a-yearsamplingdoes not provide
much basis forassessingimportantseasonal variationsin temporary
processoccasionallycreatessamlaboruse; second,the extrapolation
plingerrorsthatsurpass20 percent(Antuniassi1980).In contrast,the
INCRA and IBGE data avoid thesamplingissue sincetheyare national
96
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perspective, the boia friawas seen as the natural consequence of this
process, a transitional social phenomenon arising from longer-term
movements towards rural proletarianizationand the creation of a reserve labor pool forindustry.In many cases, however, littleeffortwas
made to investigatethe extentto which changes in rurallabor relations
were in fact related to increased capital investmentand technological
innovation.9
An additional shortcomingof this literaturehas been its rather
persistentfailureto framerural proletarianizationin Brazil within the
contextof largerhistoricaland internationalprocesses. Martins' (1979)
carefulanalysis of tenant laborers (colonos) in the Sao Paulo coffeeindustryprovides one positive example of such an approach. The study
explores effectively
the emergence of the colono worker group in relation to local economic development needs and associated patterns of
foreignimmigration.What is needed, however, are similar endeavors
thatrelate the boia friato broader patternsof national and international
development,and make expliciteffortsto develop a comparativeunderstandingof the boia friaphenomenon in lightof relevantruralproletarianization experiencesfromotherLatin Americansettings.
Later studies rectified,at least in part,these earlieromissions and
provided greaterunderstandingofthe factorsthatserved as catalystsfor
the appearance of the ruralwage laborers.10Principalamong these have
been: (1) technologicalmodernizationand concomitantincreases in the
seasonal variationof demand foragriculturallabor; (2) changing cropping patternsand associated shiftsin labor requirements;and (3) labor
legislation applied to rural workers and represented primarilyby the
Estatuto do Trabalhador Rural (Statute for the Rural Worker).Each of
these factors,not unrelatedto the broader process of capital penetration
in the countryside,will be discussed in turnbelow. It should be noted,
however, thatto date therehas been littleattemptto weight these variables. The extentto which one is deemed more importantthan another
in provokingthis process often seems to reflectpersonal biases of the
authorsratherthan any clear understandingof causal sequence.
Technological
Modernization.Technological modernizationin agriculture has been used frequentlyas a primaryindicator of increased
capitalization in rural productive processes. The most common measures of technologicalmodernizationhave emphasized changes in tractoruse, fertilizerapplication,and employmentof pesticides (e.g., Brant
1977). The extent of these changes has been summarized in a major
study of temporarywage labor in Sao Paulo agricultureconducted by
the State SecretariatofPlanning (State of Sao Paulo 1978).11 It notes that
between 1950 and 1970 the number of tractorsin Sao Paulo increased
eighteen-foldfrom3,819 to 67,312. Similarly,average fertilizeruse per
hectaregrew from28.4 kg duringthe 1961-65 period to 72.9 kg in 1970,
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raising also increased, in part supplanting areas that had previously
produced coffee.In the major coffeeproducing states of Sao Paulo and
Parana, forexample, pasture land replaced 27 percent and 40 percent,
respectively,of coffeelands cleared througha governmenteradication
program(Graziano da Silva and Gasques 1976, p. 28).
The expansion of exportand industriallyorientedcrops is directly
related to favorablebiases in agriculturalcreditprograms and agricultural policy generally.As illustratedin table 2, between 1970 and 1975
certainSaio Paulo crops received major creditallocation increases: soybeans (2,302%), sugar cane (1,026%), rice (859%), and citrus (712%).
Over the same period, the total value of agriculturalproduction credit
(custeio)for cattle-raisingsoared to 20 times the original level. These
trendswere also generallyobserved forBrazil as a whole. However, it is
noteworthythat Sao Paulo received roughlyhalf of the nation's cotton
creditin both years and the average value of Sao Paulo sugar-cane loans
increased much more rapidly than those nationwide. Since cottonand
sugar cane are among those crops with the highestseasonal demand for
labor,the dynamicgrowthand concentrationof creditforthese crops in
Sao Paulo may explain in part why the boia friaphenomenon has been
particularlycharacteristicof Sao Paulo agriculture.
One effectof changing land use patternshas been a general decline in the regional demand for agriculturallabor. Cattle-raisingrequires only 14 percent of the labor that coffee production does, and
under currentsystems of production export crops are generally less
labor intensive than subsistence crops. In consequence, the number of
persons economicallyoccupied by agriculturedeclined in Sao Paulo between 1964 and 1975 from2 million to 1.3 million, even as the total
amount of agriculturalland expanded (Graziano da Silva and Gasques
1976, p. 36). Many of these persons migratedto nearby towns where
theyoscillatebetween urban and ruralemployment.
A second major effectofchangingland use patternsand concomitantmodernizationhas been increased seasonal variationin the demand
foragriculturallabor. Under traditionalproduction systems,labor utilization is higher and more constant during the agriculturalyear. The
introductionof machineryand herbicidestends to reduce the labor requirements for soil preparation and planting and subsequent cultivational practices. However, these techniques, when coupled with fertilizer use, generally increase yields and thereforeaugment the labor
requirementsforharvest.The resultis greaterseasonal variationin labor
demand (Graziano da Silva 1978a). From the producer's standpoint,the
most economically efficientresponse to this variation and associated
possible labor bottlenecks at harvest is the use of temporary wage
laborers.
As export and industrialcrops have replaced subsistence crops,
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T A B L E 2 Agricultural
LoansforProduction
Credit(Custeio)in Sao Paulo and
Brazil,byEconomicActivity:1970-1975
Sao Paulo
1975
1970
Cotton
Peanuts
Rice
Coffee
SugarCane
Beans
Corn
Soybeans
Citrus
Cattle
No. of
Loans
Value*
(Cr
$1,000,000)
Average
Value
(Cr
$1000)
24,439
14,823
7,998
30,094
5,655
1,041
29,575
974
24,522
6,409
262.8
67.4
60.8
336.3
128.3
4.8
243.9
29.4
188.9
65.9
10.8
4.5
7.6
11.2
22.7
4.6
8.2
30.1
7.7
10.3
No. of
Loans
Value*
(Cr
$1,000,000)
Average
Value
(Cr
$1000)
13,967
12,662
12,858
38,934
5,940
3,238
34,512
4,665
37,899
23,262
736.4
231.0
583.3
1,569.3
1,445.1
58.2
1,361.9
706.1
1,533.6
1,381.1
52.7
18.2
45.4
40.3
243.3
18.0
39.5
151.4
40.5
59.4
1,737.9
269.2
6,475.4
3,541.3
3,952.1
519.0
3,964.7
6,412.7
8,248.7
7,386.9
25.0
17.5
53.5
35.3
173.0
15.8
25.2
92.2
31.8
48.4
Brazil
Cotton
Peanuts
Rice
Coffee
SugarCane
Beans
Corn
Soybeans
Citrus
Cattle
96,342
23,550
68,432
74,270
14,239
21,230
136,763
26,846
61,198
29,513
482.2
98.3
522.3
837.8
345.0
91.2
586.2
187.5
335.3
294.0
5.0
4.2
7.6
11.3
24.2
4.3
4.3
7.0
5.5
10.0
69,496
15,401
120,934
100,381
22,844
32,889
157,238
69,577
259,370
152,661
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centerswhere theircash reservesare rapidlyexhausted, forcingthemto
seek employmentas unskilled laborers in the town and surrounding
countryside.
These land price increases also have contributeddirectlyto the
substitutionof temporarywage laborers forresident farmworkers. As
land values climbed,itbecame cheaper forthe employerto pay workers
a cash wage, so thattheycould purchase theirfood in the market,than
to provide the time and land necessary forthem to produce theirown
food (Singer 1975, Brant 1977). Similar processes of credit-fueledland
concentration,crop substitution,shiftinglabor demand, and rural outmigrationhave been observed in the Northeaststateof Bahia (Saint and
Goldsmith1980).
LaborLegislation.The Estatutodo TrabalhadorRural (ETR), signed
into law in 1963, subsequently modified and increasingly enforced,
established forthe rurallaborera series of rightsand guarantees identical to those received by urban workers. The more importantof these
include receiptof minimumwage, annual paid vacation, a 48-hourwork
week, severance pay in case of dismissal, retirementpension, and a
number of medical and other social welfarebenefits(Rossini 1977, Chiarelli 1976). At the timethese rightswere established-and afterwardmost rural employers did not comply with these requirements,especially those concerning salary, vacation, severance pay, and the work
week. As enforcementof this legislation became more effective,13
a
corresponding strong tendency was observed on the part of the employersto reduce theirresidentlabor force(and consequentlytheirlegal
obligations)and increase the use of temporarywage laborerscontracted
through the gatos. Under this arrangement,the gato ratherthan the
farmowner is directlyresponsible forcompliance with the ETR legislation. However, given the transienceand tenuousness of employmentin
many boia friawork groups, violations and noncompliance have been
exceedinglydifficult
to prove.
Under these conditions,researchershave been quick to note that,
froman employer's perspective,the boias friashave certaineconomic
advantages over otherformsof employment(Gonzales and Bastos 1975,
Graziano da Silva and Gasques 1976, Gasques and Gebara 1977). While
temporarywage workerscan earn more than residentworkersat a daily
rate, they earn much less on an annual basis. The move to temporary
labor thus resultsin considerable savings to the employerssince in-kind
payments to resident workersmay representas much as 27 percent of
theirincome, and compliance with labor legislationincreases labor costs
by a further27 percent(Gonzales and Bastos 1975). Thus, depending on
the agreed conditionsunder which the residentlabor forceis maintained
on the farm,the switchto temporarywage labor can resultin savings to
the employersof 10 to 30 percent.However, verylittlesystematiceffort
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sporadic laborers-usually women and childrennot regularlyin the job
market-is hardly consistent with traditionalconceptions of a rural
proletariat.
At the same time, complementarylines of investigationmight
serve to furtherunderstandingof the particularcircumstancesthat engender and sustain temporarywage laborers as an identifiablesocial
group. Since these workersalso have the option of seeking urban employment-and indeed some ofthemdo on a periodicbasis-the degree
of articulationbetween urban and rurallabor marketsmightbe explored
profitably.In this context,there is a need to comprehend the boia fria
phenomenon in relationto the broader dynamics of Brazilian economic
policies. For example, trade policies may favorexportcrops over domesticfood production,and exchange-ratepolicies may resultin overvalued
currenciesthat implicitlytax the traditionallyexport-orientedprimary
sector.Such policies tend to turnthe termsof trade against agriculture,
and theirnegative interactioneffectshave the strongestimpact on the
smaller farms.Rural labor generallybears the bruntof this implicittax
burden in the formof limitedreturnsand low wages.
Greater attentionto sex and age differentialsamong temporary
agriculturallaborers might assist in the comprehension of evolving
familysurvival strategieswithin low-income populations, which have
been severelypressed by the growingincome inequities of recentyears.
Family budget and life-cycleanalysis could well generate enlightening
informationon this subject.
Verylittleresearch has been done on temporarywage laborers'
own view of theirhistory,theirpersonal ideologies, and theirpotential
for mobilization through cooperatives, rural unionization, or political
movements.14 This topic is particularlyimportantin Brazil's currentpolitical setting. Recent political partyrestructuring,greatertolerance of
divergentopinions, and growingruralsocial tensions have combined to
produce a resurgenceof ruralpolitical and social mobilizationactivities
unequalled in over a decade.
development, primarily
Finally,the role of basic infrastructure
roads, in creatingthe preconditionsforboth capital-intensiveagriculture
explored.
and the use of urban-based farmlaborers mightbe fruitfully
Since many integratedruraldevelopmentprojectsplace heavy emphasis
theremay be an association between such effortsand
on infrastructure,
the expansion of wage labor use in agriculture.
It is difficult
to judge the degree to which the boia friamay represent a transitorysocial phenomenon in the historyof Brazilian agriculturaldevelopment. As long as ruralwages remainlow-currently $2.00
to $4.00 per day-it seems unlikelythatmechanizationwill replace the
boia fria.15 If, however, futuregovernmentsocial and economic policies
address productivelythe structuralproblems of ruralincome inequality,
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enhanced ruralincomes could raise the cost of labor to the point where
mechanized substitutionof labor might occur on a large scale. Under
these circumstances,the large bulk of boias friascould well pass from
sporadic employmentto chronicunemployment.
Social and economic policies under the administrationof Brazil's
president, Gen. Joao Baptista de Figueiredo, who took officein March
1979, appear unlikelyto cause any major change in the social conditions
under which the boia fria lives and works. Nevertheless, some new
developmentsmay be forthcoming.Outgoing MinisterofLabor Arnaldo
Prieto noted that effortsare underway to organize boias friasinto labor
cooperativesthatwould permitworkersto negotiatedirectlyand collectivelywith employers. At the same time, effectivemeans of incorporating boias friaswithinthe rurallabor unions are also under discussion.
In this setting,a significantgovernmentinitiativewas launched
in 1979 in the effortto createa politicalopening and "redemocratize"the
country.This undertakinghas createda less repressivepoliticalenvironment in which organized labor can begin to articulateclass-based demands for wage adjustments and improved working conditions. For
example, a wildcat strikeby Pernambucosugar-cane workersin October
1979 was accompanied by petitionsforsalaryincreases, household plots
for subsistence cultivation,and improved transportationsecurityfor
boias frias.More recently,in May 1980,agriculturalworkersin the newly
established coffeearea of Bahia initiateda strikein an effortto obtain a
$4.00 per day wage, equal pay forwomen, half-timework forchildren,
overtimecompensation, and employercompliance with legislated labor
regulations.
Moreover, a governmentprogram of limited "agrarian reform"
has been launched recentlyin selective areas of extremesocial tension.
For example, an Amazon area twice the size of New Yorkstate recently
was placed under National SecurityCouncil jurisdictionwith the purpose of effectinglocalized land reform.Additionally,a number of land
redistributionprojects forthe impoverished Northeast region are now
being prepared forWorldBank and Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank
funding. In this context, some landless workers are likely to regain
access to land, either through distributionof public terrainsor local
colonizationprograms.
Greater remedial attentionis also being given to disadvantaged
rural groups through governmentactivitiesaimed at improvingrural
housing, education, and health services. However, Brazil's currentecolimitsharplythe resourcesavailable forsuch programs.
nomicdifficulties
Consequently, continuingBrazilian dependence on petroleum imports
and associated inflationand balance-of-paymentspressuressuggestthat
in the shortrun littlemore than cosmeticattentionwill be given to the
problemsof the country'ssix millionboias frias.16
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NOTES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Literallytranslated,
boiafriameans "cold lunch."The termderivesfromthe day
laborers'practice
ofcarrying
theirlunchwiththemtotheirworkin thefield.Temporarywage laborersarealso knownas volante,
pau-de-arara,
pilao,birolo
(Sao Pauloand
avulso(Bahia),biscateiro
orchangueiro
Paranai),
clandestino,
caatingueiro
(Pernambuco),
(RioGrandedo Sul).
In manyways,thisis theBrazilianequivalentto theEnglish"enclosuremovement"
in thesixteenth
and is describedbyMarx(1906,1:788-805),
whichoccurred
century,
ofcroppedlandbypastureforsheepand cattle,theconwho notesthesubstitution
oflandownership,
centration
thetransformation
ofcommonlandsintoprivatepropand thecreation
ofa largegroupoflandlesswage laborers.
erty,
In Parana,a neighboring
stateofSao Paulo,therearean estimated
400,000boiasfrias
(Murad,1976).There,too,cattle-raising
has replacedcoffee,
causinglandconcentraand changinglaborrelationsas documented
tion,unemployment,
by MaxineMarwhichrequires96person-days
golis(1973).In otherareasofthestate,coffee,
oflabor
foreach hectareplanted,has been replacedby themechanizedcultivation
of soyand 2 person-days
beansand wheat,whichrequireonly9 person-days
oflaborper
hectareplanted,respectively
(Murad,1976).
The table1 percentagesare onlyroughlycomparablewithsimilarcalculations
for
Mexico(Dotsonand Dotson1978,p. 694),whichshowedproportions
ofurbanbased
from3 to9 percentin majormetropolitan
agriculturalists
areas.
fringe
Overallparticipation
ofchildren
and underin Brazilianagriculture
aged fourteen
has
been calculatedas 16 percentoftheeconomically
activepopulationin theprimary
sector(Brant1979,p. 38). In one Sao Paulostudy,whichinterviewed
303femaleagricultural
overhalfreportedthattheyhad enteredtherurallaborforcebeworkers,
foretheage oftwelveyears(Oliveira1978,p. 41).
Fora generaldiscussionofwomenin Brazil'slaborforce,see Madeiraand Singer
(1975).
In exceptionalcases, the laborgang boss maybe a woman. See Gomes da Silva
(1977).
Fordiscussionsofrecentchangesin ruralsocialrelations
thatfocusdirectly
on these
differential
groups,see Antuniassi(1976);OliveiraNeto(1977);Stein,Medeiros,and
Garcia(1977);SallumJunior(1978);and Brant(1979).Foran extensivequantitative
description
ofthesegroupsforBrazilas a whole,see Grazianoda Silva(1978b).
oftheearlyboiafrialiterature
Fora critique
thatemphasizesthispoint,see Goodman
and Redcift(1977).
Muchofthedebateon theboiafriaphenomenon,
as wellas manyofthestudiescited
intheongoingforums
here,occurred
on agriculprovidedbytheannualconferences
turalwagelaborheldat theUniversidade
EstadualPaulistaJuliode MesquitaFilho,
locatedin Botucatu,Sao Paulo, and sponsoredby the Departmento
de Economia
Ruralfrom1975to 1980.
This projectis one of threemajorresearchefforts
on the themefinancedby the
ofLabor;it is currently
theonlyone thatis concludedand published.The
Ministry
othertwoare:theInstituto
JoaquimNabucoforPemambucoStateand theInstituto
Paranaensede Desenvolvimento
Economicoe Social-IPARDES forParanaState.
In 1977totalagricultural
creditprovidedin Brazilwas approximately
$23.5billion,an
amountalmostequal in valueto theagricultural
GNP Sincemostoftheseloanscarriedinterest
therealinterest
rateslowerthantherateofinflation,
ratewas negative.
Theresultis a verysizablesocialsubsidyoftheagricultural
sector.
Thereare severalapparentreasonsforincreasedenforcement.
Rurallaborunions
havebecomemoreactivein defending
workers'rights,
especiallysincetheyhavein
manyinstancescometoincorporate
unioncontracted
lawyerswhoprovidefreelegal
assistancetounionmembers.Official
toleration
oftheseendeavors,and ofunionactivities
to reducethesocialtensionsarisingfromexgenerally,
maybe due toefforts
tremeincomeinequality
in ruralareas,to thedecliningpoliticalinfluences
ofrural
elitesas Brazilbecomesincreasingly
efforts
urbanized,and toconsciousgovernment
to expandthemarketsfordomesticconsumerproductsby providing
ruralpopula-
106
TEMPORARY
LABOR IN BRAZILIAN
AGRICULTURE
15. Atthepresentexchangerate,Cr$100toCr$200.
for1980was apneeds.Inflation
85 percentofitspetroleum
imports
16. Brazilpresently
debtis over$54billionand rising.
foreign
110percent.The country's
proximately
BIBLIOGRAPHY
naAgricultura
Note: MOVA = MaodeObraVolante
UEPJMF = Universidade Estadual Paulista Juliode Mesquita Filho
ANGELELI, W. A.; VANNUCHI, H; AND DUTRA DE OLIVEIRA, J. E.
1977 "O Trabalho Assalariado Rural Volante: Notas Para uma CaracterizaNacional.Botucatu, Sao Paulo: Deparq2o." In MOVA: III Reuniiao
tamentode Economia Rural, UEPJMF.
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Piracicaba: Faculdade de Serviqo Social.
1966 Estudoda Condiafo
e Miseria.Petropolis:EditoraVozes.
1975 0 BoiaFria:AcumulaVao
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1976 "Trabalhador Volante." In MOVA: II Reuniiio
Paulo: Departamento de Economia Rural, UEPJMF.
FIPE-FUNDA?AO
deBaixaRenda.Brasilia:
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1975 BasesParaUmPrograma
Ministerioda Agricultura.
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Review
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Brazil."International
Journal
ofUrbanandRegional
Research
1, no. 2, pp.
348-64.
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1977 "O 'Boia Fria': Entre Aspas e Com Pingos Nos I's." In MOVA: III
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1978 "A Mulher Como For,a de Trabalho na Agricultura."In MOVA: IV ReuniaoNacional.Botucatu, Sao Paulo: Departamento de Economia Rural,
UEPJMF.
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TEMPORARY
LABOR IN BRAZILIAN
AGRICULTURE
MARGOLIS, MAXINE
1973 TheMovingFrontier:
Socialand EconomicChangein a BrazilianCommunity.
Gainesville: Universityof Florida Press.
MARTINEZ-ALIER,
VERENA
MARX, KARL
MOURA, MARGARIDA
MURAD, FATIMA
1976 "A Federaq5o e Os Boias Frias." Movimento,no. 64 (20 Sept.), pp. 6-7.
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109
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SAINT, WILLIAM S., AND GOLDSMITH,
WILLIAM W.
SILVA, SERGIO
SINGER, PAUL
VASSIMON, SERGIO
1969 EstudoPreliminar
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do
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110