Associated Press | June 1, 2003
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Authorities raided two farms in Rondonia state and released 450 people working in debt slave conditions, the government news agency reported Sunday.
Officers from the Regional Labor Attorney raided the two farms after a tip-off from an escaped worker, according Marcelo Dambroso, of the Regional Labor Attorney's office, the Agencia Brasil report said. One armed guard was arrested.
Most of the workers were from the neighboring states of Mato Grosso and Alagoas, and one was from Bolivia. Some were sick or injured; others were under age and should not have been working at all, he said.
Slavery is common in the south of the state, he said.
The Brazilian government estimates some 25,000 people work in debt slavery conditions in Brazil. The enslavement begins with workers being lured to remote jungle ranches with promises of good incomes. Once there, they find themselves in ever-widening webs of debt as they are forced to pay more for transportation, food and tools than they earn. Those trying to leave are often forced back at gunpoint.
In March, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva unveiled a plan to tackle the issue by increasing punishment for ranchers employing slave labor and seizing their land.Associated Press:
