Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 1994

Cabanes, Robert

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DEMOCRACY1 5 - 1 5 JULY 1994UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRANDHISTORY WORKSHOPWORKERS' CULTURE IN SAO PAOLO (BRAZIL):NATIONAL, RELIGIOUS AND POPULAR DIMENSIONSRobert Cabanes •ORSTOMFranceWORKERS' CULTURES XN SAO PAULO (BRAZIL): NATIONAL, RELIGIOUS ANDPOPULAR DIMENSIONS (SUMMARY)By R. CABANESThe purpose of this paper Is to describe workers' cultures in SaoPaulo as apprehended through the stories recounted by localgroups of workers. These stories were centred on labour andprofessional trajectories. It seems that an interpretation ofvarious groups of practises and symbols through diverse gene-rations of workers would be possible. These groups of practisesand symbols change from time to time according to events. Newevents constitute for the most recent generation their initialmelting pot, while events which constituted the melting pot forprevious generations exist only through memory. It is there-forepossible to pinpoint these practises and symbols at the momentof their appearance from the most ancient generations, and toexamine their evolution, their transformation or their breaking-up.The matter here will not be to present systematically the histo-rical and social contexts in which these cultural elements occu-red. This will de delt with only where established institutionsand powers shape the historical and social context. The preoc-cupation in this paper will be, first to extract from workers'stories, initial myths, rituals, practises and representationswhich build these cultural elements. Secondly, we will touch onthe historical and social contexts whenever institutions andpowers will appear to play a significant role in the constitutionand genesis of these cultural elements; then we will utilize theinformation obtained from workers'stories.Suffice it to say, that this paper aims to present some dynamic2principles which structure cultural forms of identification. Thispaper treats only the locating of these principles and not thehistory of these forma and their process. Otherwise, we wouldneed a historical analysis which would be much longer and moredetailed.Let's also, from the start of this study, emphasize the contrastswhich exist in a country like Brazil. Firstly, there is thecontext of domination in which is located the worker milieu likeelsewhere in the world, this constitutes the first unifying ele-ment, or rather, it contains potentialities for a strong processof worker's identification.Secondly and in contrast, it can be said that the accession tothe worker milieu (which is represented by the possession of awork card, what means the guarantee of a declared and regularactivity which provides social rights and a true citizenship),may be conceived as a priviledge within the ocean of precariouswork and unemployment.Between the two structural extremities of this position,submission and priviledge, there is considerable scope for humanaction and many identifying or cultural configurations whosemajor historical evolution will be described here.1. CULTURES OF THE LABOURERFor the dominated working-class, whatever it is, urban or rural,well payed or not, tiresome or pleasant, labour is inesca-pable.The labourer is attached to labour like his destiny. Thus,labourers accept with calmness low wages, non payed extra hours3and schedules of labour whatever they are.The simple fact of working is considered to be a "blessing" (inthe religious sense of the word). Individually given, thisdonation from heaven must not be lost or alienated. Workers'blindness vis-a-vis their own social conditions of labour isintentional: in spite of injustice, there is no reason for themto criticize what appears to be their destiny.2. THE ANARCHIST CULTUREAnarchist culture and revolutionary syndicalism were largelydominant in the 1920s and were introduced by European migrants.We will not deal with the birth and development of anarchism andrevolutionary syndicalism at the time their dominance as doc-Ttrines (at the beginning of this century), but we will followtheir contemporary paths through the biographies of some workers.Besides, those workers do not claim to be particularly anarchist,even if they know the existence of this worker movement.Anarchist workers devoted a deep respect to the age of indivi-duals (parents and bosses) who exercised authority. The appren-ticeship is thus a period of reception and not of expression.When a teenager reached the legal age (18), he ceased to work insmall workshops. Without any transition, unshakable self-affirmation in all circumstances is expected of him.A code of workers conduct compelled them to overcome the fearvis-a-vis experiencing physical dangers without taking uselessrisks, avoiding all relationships of dependence at the moment ofhiring or the first days of work, refusing relations of competi-tion between peers which may be aroused by the hierarchy andclaiming equality of wages for equal tasks, and finally changing/ 4/ employers in order to avoid falling into repetitive patterns of/ work.The anarchist culture had one dimension which was completelyopposed to another feature of the Brazilian culture: the exchangeof favours. The latter occured in the course of relations amongpeers and more specifically between subordinates and superiors.The main difference between the culture of the labourer and thatof the anarchist, rests on the fact that the latter does notdepend on any mystical or religious reference; rather themysticism lies with the individual, and in some way it istimeless.3. THE COMMUNIST CULTURE tIts essential cultural originality is the supremacy of the poli-tical level over its corresponding organization. The trade unionwas of secondary importance because it constituted only an execu-tive branch of.the party. What leaders expected from militantswas to build a strategy which would allow the oppressed to cons-titute a force against domination and exploitation.The party had remarkable structural qualities of organizationwhich were developed in the last decade, when it came to organizefactory commissions in charge of negociations with management.4. NATIONAL CULTURE AND CORPORATIST SYNDICALISM OF THE 1920SThe state had to assure both the development of the nationalindustry and a minimal social protection and legality in orderto attract rural manpower, while maintaining manpower expensesat a reasonable rate but also at a sufficient level for thedevelopment of an internal market. Moreover, the state improvedthe labour conditions through the "Consolidation of Labour Laws"published in 1943 and which still constitutes the ground for thelabour legislation in Brazil. It is updated each year.During the first 30 years of this system until the 1964 militarycoup d'Etat, there were permanent negotiations between politicalpower and the trade union system. The latter negotiated its ownmanipulation by a more or less populist regime, favourable topopular classes. However its various attempts to createautonomous confederations of trade unions failed.From 1964, this model attempted to perpetuate itself but syndi-calism lost its efficiency vis-a-vis a repressive state. The'1974liberalization of the regime allowed trade union activity torecover; it was endowed with new forms of organization, differentfrom the previous ones which had been discredited because of thefailure of its protector: the state.The contemporary period is characterized by confrontation betweenthese two tendencies or these two cultures. The first one, depri-ved of state support, receives a discreet and sometimes conspi-cuous support from employers. As for the second tendency, it isbased on the principles of the theology of liberation and adoptssome features of previous cultures, essentially anarchist andcommunist ones. Extending its domain beyond the labour field,this tendency also deals with social needs of oppressed strata.Syndicalism naturally leads to contact with the political domain.The desire to participate in the political universe appearsconstant in this form of culture but the levels of thisparticipation are very unequal and correspond to the professionalstatus of persons.6// 5. A SIMULTANEOUS RETURN OF THE RELIGIUOS AND POLITICALDIMENSIONSThe contemporary socio-political culture is based on the theologyof liberation and occurs during the dictatorship (1964-1984). Thetheology of liberation constitutes a link between diverse formsof resistance or of refusal of the notions of "suffering" and"sacrifice". Its acceptance on earth assures the redemption inheaven. Henceforth, the life on earth becomes a question ofdignity for all. This supposes a relative equality, rather thanthe suppression of the most striking inequalities.It is in this cultural context that one takes charge of the actof labour. It is different from other cultures of labour because:in the official syndicalism labour is first of allperceived in relationships of allegiance and clientelismvis-a-vis the state;the Communist culture subordinates labour into politicalsubmission;the cultures of the labourer are less attentive to socialinsertions of labour; and finallyalthough this last culture appears to be closer to theanarchist culture, the latter is not sensitive to the painof workers.It is undoubtedly difficult to speculate about the future ofthese different cultural forms. For the present, it is clear thattheir major social forms of support are the trade union and the7party. The trade union and the party favour more the relationshipof force rather than cultural creations. Moreover, the tradeunion form seems to be the most able to capture what appears tobe the foundation of a social and cultural renovation: thedevelopment and revaluation of concrete labour.

Workers' culture in Sao Paolo (Brazil): national, religious and popular dimensions

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