In "Carne Viva": The Work of Hatian People in Brazilian Meatpacking Plants and Pandemic Capitalism

Abstract

This work aims to trace a panorama of the increase in Haitian immigration flow in Brazil over 2010-2020 decade and its labor insertion profile in the meatpacking industry to reflect on the conditions of the division of origin, racial and sexual work in the sector in Brazilian geopolitical context and covid-19 pandemic. To this end, theoretical study was carried out based on the Actor-Network Theory. It was found that Haitian women find less chance of social mobility in relation to their position in the society of origin (compared to the possibilities of men) and occupy predominantly subordinate and lower-paid positions, without access to conducive conditions to reconciling motherhood and work. Likewise, at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, it was found that the meatpacking sector was pressured not to stop, even with the risks involved for its workers. It was concluded that the meat industry usurps rights and engenders systematic killing of animals, people and the environment as a multispecies event result of the systemic degradation generated by the concentration of capital, which causes forced migrations and the supply of precarious jobs to the global chain.