Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Brazil is currently suffering economic stagnation and a political crisis. The economic growth that buoyed Brazil through most of the 2000s has stalled, and the ruling Workers’ Party, which through three presidential terms led Brazil toward relatively worker- and union-friendly policies, is under fierce political attack. These circumstances make it an apt time to evaluate the challenges currently faced by workers and their unions in Brazil. This Brief undertakes that evaluation by placing the current situation in a longer historical context.