The pandemic and the labor market in Brazil

Abstrac The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health problem that has given new dynamics to the world economy. The rapid spread of the disease and the use of social distancing as a form of prevention exposed the social and urban inequalities of capitalist cities. In Brazil, as in other countries, social distancing has promoted rapid changes in the labor market with more severe impacts for 37.3 million people living in the informal sector, as they do not have rights to, for example, the severance pay indemnity fund (FGTS) and unemployment benefit. According to the International Labour Organization, the first layoffs are occurring among those who live off precarious work, such as: outsourced workers, clerks, waiters, kitchen workers, day laborers, baggage handlers, and cleaners. We show a brief synthesis of the consequences that the health crisis has brought to Brazilian workers and propose coping measures that are not limited to emergency aid. The recovery and creation of occupations will depend, among other factors, on the resumption of spending on social and economic programs that were able to reduce social inequalities at the beginning of this century, such as PAC-favelas; Minha Casa, Minha Vida Program; Bolsa Família Program and the FAT Employment and Income Generation Program. These programs can and must be expanded to bring the economy back to growth in the long run.

摘要
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行是全球性公共卫生难题，为世界经济注入了全新的运行逻辑。疫情的快速蔓延以及社交距离防控措施的推行，暴露了资本主义城市中存在的社会与城市不平等问题。在巴西，与其他国家一样，社交距离政策推动了劳动力市场的快速变革，对3730万非正规就业群体造成了更为严重的冲击——这类群体无法享有离职补偿金保障基金（FGTS）、失业救济金等法定权益。据国际劳工组织（International Labour Organization）统计，首批失业群体多为依赖灵活不稳定工作维生的人群，包括外包员工、文员、服务员、后厨工作人员、日结零工、行李搬运工与保洁人员。本研究简要梳理了此次卫生危机给巴西劳动者带来的一系列影响，并提出了不限于紧急援助的应对举措。就业岗位的恢复与新增，除其他因素外，将取决于重启本世纪初曾有效降低社会不平等的社会与经济项目投入，例如PAC贫民窟项目（PAC-favelas）、"我的家，我的生活"计划（Minha Casa, Minha Vida Program）、家庭补助金计划（Bolsa Família Program）以及FAT就业与收入生成计划（FAT Employment and Income Generation Program）。此类项目不仅能够、而且必须得到扩围，以推动经济实现长期复苏与增长。