Fronteira agrícola da Bahia: plantando relações de trabalho análogas à escravidão

Abstract

In 2009, the GeografAR Project was invited by CPT/BA to participate more actively in this Campaign, and the ongoing research entitled "Diagnosis and Mapping of Slave Labor in the State of Bahia" is the result of this partnership and has the support of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). This investigation aims to understand and explain the nature and processes that generate contemporary forms of slavery and degrading working conditions in the countryside of Bahia. The methodology used articulated a continuous bibliographic, documentary and iconographic review, data collection and processing with public bodies and field research. To this end, it was necessary both to monitor and continuously update the database with information on occurrences of slave labor, as well as to maintain a permanent reflection on the proposed theme. The field research was carried out through a partnership between GeografAR, CPT and AATR, through workshops with workers and union, pastoral and ecclesial leaders. These workshops aimed at verifying in the field the living and working conditions in the municipalities of Bahia with an incidence of situations analogous to slave labor or migration of workers to this condition. The work presented here aims, therefore, to present the partial results achieved so far with this research, focusing on what is meant by "contemporary slavery," its spatial distribution and expression in Bahia, and the mechanisms responsible for its maintenance.