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Shattered Power, Reconstructed Coalitions: An Analysis of Rural Labor Unions in Maranhio, Brazil by Monica F. Pinhanez Bachelor of Laws, Pontifical Catholic University, 1987 Master of Public Administration, Getnlio Vargas Foundation, 1995 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN CITY PLANNING AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY JUNE 1997 0 1997 Monica F. Pinhanez. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of Author: U epartment of Urban 5thdies and Planning May 22, 1997 Certified by: Judith Tendler Professor of Political Economy Thesis Advisor Accepted by: Mark Schuster Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning Chair, Master in City Planning Committee JUN 251997 Shattered Power, Reconstructed Coalitions: An Analysis of Rural Labor Unions in Maranhilo, Brazil by Monica F. Pinhanez Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 22, 1997 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of City Planning ABSTRACT During the dictatorship (1964-1985), the authoritarian political system enforced the organization of the labor movement by law in Brazil. The government aimed at keeping control of workers' organization by establishing the monopoly of their representation, centralizing control, and imposing a uniform labor structure. One prevalent argument in the literature is that this corporatist and monopolistic union structure would lead unions to be less democratic and less organized. Contrary to this mainstream thought, I found evidence that in spite of the corporatist and monopolistic regime, rural labor unions differed from each other and represented workers successfully in the state of Maranhio, Brazil, because there has been competition among unions and non-union organizations for the union leadership. Evidence presented here shows that in certain contexts the existence of monopoly unions did not constrain change and pluralism, but rather enabled competition among different streams for the union leadership. The existence of one sole labor structure forced worker-related groups to organize and compete for the leadership role within the unions' formal structure, because formal unions had human, financial, and organizational resources, and were the only organizations allowed to represent workers in judicial and administrative arenas. To compete for the leadership of the union, workers created parasyndical organizations, the so-called opposition movements, and ended-up creating internal competition. This internal competition generated a constant pressure on unions' and workers' leadership, fostering responsiveness to workers' demands. Later, during the democratization process in Brazil (after 1985), because the union monopoly persisted, the existence of non-union groups led to specialization of social action functions of the unions and other organizations. These groups included political parties, non-governmental organizations, and the Catholic Church. In the places where there were a variety of such groups, strong external competition between unions and non-union organizations took place and increased the pressure for improved performance of unions and, at the same time, increased the stock of social capital that kept unions responsive to the workers' demands. Thesis Supervisor: Judith Tendler Title: Professor of Political Economy Acknowledgments I would like to thank, Judith Tendler. Her critical thinking, enthusiasm for the buried ideas and precise words, and unwillingness to take anything for granted have pushed me along this work. Mostly important, she taught me a passion for the possible and more about Brazil than I ever thought. Richard Locke, my reader, who became a good mentor, giving excellent advice, treating me with respect, and encouraging me to pursue my dream. Karen Polenske and Omar Razzaz who not only gave me incentives to follow the academic career but also made me rediscover the passion for legal issues, institutions, and property rights. Vinit Mukhija, Tom Harsanyi, and Douglas Webb, for reading my thesis and discussing my argument(s) with me numerous times. My friends of the International Development and Regional Planning group who shared my dreams, expectations, problems, and many laughs and pleasant moments. In special Veronica Naranjo, Maria Mulkeen, Amanda Bickel, and Alen Amirkhanian. Francisco Gomes and Sergio Silva [and all the technicians and employees of the Projeto NORDESTE] who were always receptive to my ideas and who provided me with information and resources during the time when I was in Maranhio. All of the Brazil Group with whom I shared experiences in my own country. CAPES (Coordenadoria de Aperfeigoamento de Pessoal do Ensino Superior) for providing me with resources to pursue my work. My parents, who encouraged me from overseas. And most of all, my husband, Claudio Pinhanez, who tolerated my moments of despair, believing in me ever single minute. He spent many nights awake, reading and discussing my work. Although he is a computer scientist, he knows more about unions and workers' organizations than he ever thought he would (all my love). This thesis is dedicated to the rural workers in Maranhdo, who shared with me how they cherish life, how they suffer, how they survive. Table of Contents Abstract..........................---.------------------------------..-----.-.---'''---'--'............................................... 2 Acknowledgments........................-. -----------------------------...................................................----- ' 3 Table of Contents.......................... ------------------------------- '....................................................---4 Acronym s...........................------------------------------------------'.''.--'''''............................................... 6 Chapter I - Introduction........................................------------ -------................................................. 8 1.1. The subversion of the system and the appropriation of the legal labor apparatus by the workers................................................................. 9 1.2. The Maranhao case......................................... ........... 10 1.3. Fields of research...................................................... 13 Chapter II -Labor Structure in Brazil........................................... 20 2.1. History and organization............................................. 20 2.2. Union functions and prerogatives.................................. 21 2.2.1. Monopoly of representation ....................................................... 23 2.2.2. Mandatory and voluntary contribution.................................................... 24 2.3. Labor organizational structure............................................................ 30 2.4. M anagement and leadership of the union............................................................. 32 2.5. Union delegates................................................ 33 2.6. Who votes in the unions: membership .............................................. 33 2.7. The rural employers unions....................................................... 34 2.8. The union centrals (Centrais Sindicais)......................................................... 35 2.9. Labor organization dejure and defacto....................................................... 36 Chapter III - Demand Change, Union Unresponsiveness, and the Need for Competition ..... 38 3.1. Diversity in the labor movement: selection criteria and typologies..................... 38 3.2. The causes of differentiation............................................................... ... 45 3.3. Studies in the fields of dispute .................................... 46 3.3.1. Bureaucracy and welfare service delivery in Santa Helena: the pure type one .......................................................... 47 3.3.2. Arame: the outsider as catalyst, the crisis of the leadership, and stagnation in type.......................................................... 49 3.3.3. Retraction in the quiescent labor movement of Grajad, and the role of the local governm ent........................................................................... 60 3.4. Conflicts, distrust, and agglomeration shaping peasant demands and coalitions...........................................................-- - - ...... 62 Chapter IV - Reconstructed Coalitions Through Competition: Processes of Transformation and the Satisfaction of Workers' Demands............................................. 65 4.1. The local opposition movements.................................................................... 67 4.1.1. Opposition from outside, strategies from within: Caxias............. 69 4.1.2. Production and political commitment in Imperatriz.................................. 81 4.2. Competition, coordination, and specialization of social action............................ 89 .. .. .. ... 4.2.1. Which roles?....................... ................... .. .. .. .. .. 92 ............... .. 4.2.2. Cooperation or com petition?.................................... ............. 95 4.2.3. Imperatriz after the consolidation............................................................ 97 4.3. Competition as catalyst to better performance ........................................................ 101 Chapter V