The Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy (ABJD) and Rede Lado, a group of labor law firms, launched, this Monday (6), a manifesto in which they defend the expropriation of the land of companies caught with workers in conditions analogous to slavery . The document is available on the ABJD website. Entities are collecting signatures of support.
Land expropriation is provided for in the Constitution and, according to both entities, is an effective response to greed for profits and barbarism practiced against workers. The entities reinforce that the measure is necessary to stop degrading cases like those found in the Bento Gonçalves wineries, in Rio Grande do Sul.
In the manifesto entitled “For the Immediate Expropriation of Slave Lands!”, the entities claim to be horrified by the human degradation to which more than two hundred Brazilian workers in slavery have been subjected.
“Those responsible, directly or indirectly enslavers, in addition to being criminally liable, must suffer in their most sensitive part, their own pockets. The most effective response, at the height of the wild greed for profits and the barbarism practiced, is provided for in the Constitution”, he says. the manifest.
The Brazilian Constitution provides for the expropriation of land where the existence of slave labor has been verified, as well as the confiscation of any and all goods that may be acquired as a result of the exploitation of slave labor. These must be reversed for the purposes of agrarian reform or fund with specific destination, according to the entities.
The measure is seen as essential for the effectiveness and compliance with article 243 and its sole paragraph of the Constitution of the Republic.
The labor and union lawyer, member of Rede Lado and member of the national executive of ABJD Nuredin Ahmad Allan says that the manifesto is essentially political, with the objective of encouraging society to debate the issue and pressuring legislators to approve the necessary laws for the Article 243 can be put into practice. He explains that it is common in our Magna Carta for devices that need regulation.
“Pragmatically speaking, today it would be necessary to regulate (Article 243) by an ordinary law to establish the rules, hypotheses, procedures,” he said to the Brazil in fact.
“In the practical aspect it is almost impossible to apply this command, although it exists. That is why it is a manifesto that does demand responsibility, investigation and provokes discussion within society.”
Official data indicate that, on average, around 250 cases of work similar to slavery are revealed per year, which is an average of practically one every working day, despite the recent scrapping that occurred in the inspection bodies. Recent cases involve a company that makes up the production chain of wineries in Rio Grande do Sul and Caravelas sugar.
Read the manifesto in full:
Horrified by the picture of human degradation to which more than two hundred Brazilian workers in a situation of SLAVERY were submitted, in the winegrowing lands of Serra Gaúcha, we launch this MANIFESTO with the objective of stimulating civil society to DEMAND from the competent public institutions the accountability of those involved.
Those responsible, directly or indirectly enslavers, in addition to answering criminally, must suffer in their most sensitive part, their own pockets.
The most effective response, at the height of the wild greed for profits and the barbarism practiced, is provided for in the Constitution!
WITHOUT PREJUDICE to other applicable sanctions, it is essential that Art. 243 and its sole paragraph of the Constitution of the Republic, with the didactic and necessary EXPROPRIATION of the lands where the existence of slave labor was verified, as well as the CONFISSION of any and all goods that may be had as a result of the exploitation of slave labor, the be reversed for the purposes of agrarian reform or fund with specific destination.
Access the manifest to sign it https://forms.gle/CJSR2XQ2Z2yg75rPA
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
