Neo-liberalism, Political Decentralization and Bolivian Garment Sweatshop Workers in São Paulo

• In Event: Incorporating Migrants into the Polity: International Migration, Livelihoods and Sustainable Development

Abstract

The resurgence of garment sweatshops is linked to economic globalization and to the neo-liberal economic model of development. However, other components of the neo-liberal model, notably political decentralization and the gaining strength of supranational governing bodies like Mercosur, have also impacted the garment industry worldwide. For Bolivian immigrants working in São Paulo’s sweatshops, will the Mercosur Agreement combined with increased municipal representation lead to greater labor rights and improvements in living conditions? Will political decentralization contribute to a more democratic mode of municipal governance and the empowerment of Bolivian migrants in São Paulo? It is less the nation state than local government that is starting to incorporate migrants into its political agenda, and it is supranational agreements rather than the Brazilian national government that are providing the Bolivian migrants with documents. Bolivian migrants have responded to the local initiatives by electing officials at the sub-municipal level, but they are struggling to organize a constituency. After a short history of Bolivian sweatshop workers in São Paulo, this paper will briefly examine the resurgence of sweatshops as an integral part of the neo-liberal economic production system. It will take into account the relationship between Mercosur, citizenship, and labor rights, as well as local governmental efforts and the corresponding response by Bolivian immigrants.

Authors

• Simone J Buechler, University of Illinois/Chicago

• Amanda Pinheiro de Oliveira, University of Illinois at Chicago