PEC of slave labor: an analysis of the discourse around the processing
Discourse theory; hegemony, necrobiopower; ruralist bench; slave labor and analogous to slavery.
The Constitutional Amendment N°. 81 of 2014 has changed the article 243 of the Federal Constitution of 1988 and it has determined that all property where illicit production is found, or people in a situation of slave labor or slavery, must be destined for agrarian reform or social use. This amendment is the result of 20 years of debate of the Constitutional Amendment Proposal nº 438/001, known as the Slave Labor PEC. The path between the first proposal and the enactment was long and painful, resulting in a series of disputes over the definition of slave labor, workers' rights, the rural culture and other concepts, such as democracy and freedom. However, despite the apparent achievement, the law is not fully effective, and a complementary ordinary law is needed defining what “slave labor” is. That law, until the conclusion of this dissertation, has not been elaborated. Thus, the concept of slave labor remains suspended, making this Constitutional Amendment something purely decorative. In light of the above, this work aims to investigate the speeches produced in face of the PEC of slave labor, observing the process from a perspective that goes beyond a merely legal analysis commonly linked to the theme.