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Bolivian immigrants working in Brazilian sweatshops remain an extremely concentrated precarious demographic for their unique position in a specific industry or global supply chain, similar to Latino workers in the garment industry in Los Angeles (Bonacich 2007), or Peruvian domestic workers in L.A. or Chile (Hondagneu-Sotelo 2007; Staab and Hil Maher 2006), or Nicaraguan workers in the agricultural industry in

84 _{This text is based on a fieldwork in São Paulo city with Bolivian women to a research provided to}

Solidarity Center. Acknowledges to the Solidarity Center for providing funding for the

research.Acknowledges also for Mark Anner, Tom Egan, Angela Araújo, Alexandre Barbosa, Joyce Sinakhone and other contributors that provided the conditions for the final text that resulted in this modified text.

Costa Rica (Lee 2010). According to official data (IBGE), the highest ‘alien’ population in sweatshops in São Paulo’s garment industry is that of Bolivians: official data demonstrates that most Bolivian migrants are machine operators (69 percent) (IBGE/ Censo, 2010). Graphs below illustrate the relevance of this occupation among Bolivian workers.

Graph 19 – Bolivian workers in the garment industry (SP metropolitan region, 2010) – men

Graph 20 – Bolivian workers in the garment industry (SP metropolitan region, 2010) – women

Source: IBGE (Censo 2010).

Most of the unionized national labor force (92 percent) in this industry is female according to the Seamstresses Union of São Paulo (Sindicatodas Costureiras

de São Paulo e Osasco) (verbal information85_{). But in the Bolivian population, the}

situation is flipped: men are around 55.57 percent of the workforce (IBGE, Censo 2010). Because of their unique struggle, Bolivian women workers in the Brazilian garment sector is an illustrative case to show the relevance of intersectionality in analyzing a social subject through emancipation and identity politics in union organizations as a relevant tool of representation. Therefore, although Bolivian workers might not be a significant statistical population, it is a crucial case study of a relevant sociological experience for aggregating specific social characteristics.

Furthermore, intersectionality is also a useful concept to examine this particular labor market. Due to workers’ “undocumented”86 _{status, their vulnerability}

positions them at the very bottom of supply chains since undocumented workers in Brazil are forced to work informally. The Brazilian Carteira de Trabalho requires workers to provide documentation to access formal jobs. Therefore, Bolivian women workers are more likely to end up in jobs with lower incomes and poor working conditions, when compared to their Brazilian male counterparts within the same industry. While highly qualified unionized Brazilian women workers make R$ 1,365.70 per month in workshifts of 8 hours per day (Seamstresses Union of São Paulo 2017), Bolivian workers make around R$ 705.79 per month in workshifts of 12.96 hours per day (fieldwork 2013). Cases of Bolivian workers subjected to modern slavery uncovered wages as low as R$ 274 to R$ 460 per month, degrading working conditions, detainment for lack of documentation, and deportation. As demonstrated below, cases of modern slavery in Sao Paulo sweatshops are frequent within this population. It’s worth mentioning that living and working in the same space is a common finding among these workers.

In addition to drastic levels of inequality between national and undocumented workers, there are differences among Bolivian workers as a result of gender, age, origin/ ethnicity, and marital status (which can result in higher incomes)87_{within the} Bolivian community.

Male Bolivians are often the first to migrate, and as leaders of diaspora, frequently reign over Bolivian as sweatshop owners (fieldwork; IBGE 2010)88_{. So, labor}

relations in sweatshops are permeated with asymmetric power relationships from the very beginning. In fact, when migrants were asked why they chose to come to Brazil instead of another country, previous family or friend-related ties was the most common

86 _{It’s worth mentioning that I join the assumption that “no human being is illegal”, which is, people have}

documents that may not be valid in another country, but they do have identities, humanities, and the right to have dignity.

87 _{Our fieldwork conducted interviews with 72 Bolivian women workers in the garment industry. On}

average, these workers are 30 years old, mostly from La Paz (67 percent), earn $302.21 per month (or 73 cents per piece), have work shifts from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. averaging 12.96 hours a day.

response (60 percent). Other reasons given were economic issues (17 percent) and professional recommendations (6 percent). Around 90 percent of workers live and work in the same location, usually within a house. Most women (64 percent) are informal workers, more likely to accept a heavy workload and longer shifts due to their vulnerable conditions.

Now we see how family planning is connected to diaspora, since Bolivian immigrants coming to Brazil are often women in relationships (46 percent), with children (58.33 percent of them), followed by unmarried (37 percent) and divorced women (14 percent).

Women from rural areas usually have more children, lower levels of formal education, and make up the majority of the immigrant populations. This intersection of variables leads rural women to struggle looking for fair work with reasonable pay. They end up occupying jobs that carry low social status with even less financial compensation (see graph below).

Graph 21 – Productive and reproductive work according to origin – women89

Source: fieldwork data.

Another explanation for such low wages is workers’ marital status. On one hand, women in relationships spend more time doing unpaid work - such as cooking and cleaning (see graph 22 below). On the other hand, their positions enjoy higher status among peers (such as rectista) (see graph below) and they are sometimes allowed to take a break from work because of the companionship and financial help of their partners. A final variation is age, probably due to experience: women in relationships are on average 33 years old, divorced women are 27 and single women, 26 years old.

89 _{There are different statuses in sweatshops depending on workers’ occupations. “Rectistas” are the}

ones with higher status and sew straightly: it is supposed great ability in the profession to be a good “rectista”. “Infestadoras/Enfestadoras” are responsible for a critical phase of production process, since they orient wires, alignment, filters to block defects in the process. “Overloquistas/Overlockistas” are responsible for either normal sewing and finishing the edges. “Galoneras” are capable of sewing either products with elasticity and smaller items, such as collars, sheaths and etc.

Graph 22 – Reproductive work according to marital status and children – women (proportion of interviewed women)

Graph 23 – Productive and reproductive work according to marital status and children – women (proportion of interviewed women)

Source: fieldwork data.

The concept of a gendered division of labor is useful in understanding the structure of Brazilian sweatshops. Traditional “men’s” activities show lower employment levels for women, such as driving (13.15 percent) and payroll (18.42 percent)90_.

In our fieldwork, other forms of discrimination were common, such as prejudice faced by immigrant children at school, fear of deportation due to police bias, Brazilian prejudice of the Bolivian community, preference in enrolling nationals in the

90 _{In our interviews narratives locating gender asymmetries were latent, such as “men work more often}

as rectistas” (the best paid function) while “women as overlock” (the worst paid function), “women work more and earns less”, and “women work much more men”.

national health system, challenges in formalizing, and aggressive non-traditional approaches to Bolivian women experiencing childbirth91 _{(fieldwork 2013).}

In sum, Bolivian garment workers are an illuminating case of intersectionality or social markers of difference determining their social status and remunerative conditions. As demonstrated throughout this section, Bolivian women workers access less favorable living and working conditions compared to their female Brazilian and male Bolivian counterparts in work that is already precarious and underpaid. Additionally, young, single, rural women are even more vulnerable when compared to their female Bolivian counterparts.

Data shows, thus, the relevance of representing specific identities based on variables of nationality, gender, and age, among others.