Migrantes na costura em São Paulo Paraguaios, bolivianos e brasileiros na indústria de confecções

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to discuss the insertion of transnational migrants in the sewing  industry. It is argued that the problems related to working conditions, violations and the  situations that workers are subjected to do not derive from their national origin, but from  the way migration is associated with the productive processes of this restructured industry.  The first part of the text deals the structure of the sprayed production of garments in sewing  workshops and its relation to the current transnational migration. Secondly, some comparisons  are drawn between how workshops of Bolivians, Paraguayans and Brazilians are organized  and the profile of their workers. It is argued that the major difference of migrant workshops  is due to the way in which they articulate the conditions of work, housing and immigration  intermediation. When considering the presence of Paraguayans in this industry, the paper  seeks to shift from the ethnic or national problematic and highlight the functioning of this  labor exploitation mechanism which, at the same time, allows for the inclusion of transnational  migrants in the urban life of São Paulo.