Made in Brazil: Confronting Child Labor
“To force a child to work is to steal the future of that child” – Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva1
While Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made significant efforts to reduce child labor, at the end of his tenure the issue still remains urgent. Forging a successful strategy to reduce child labor is not a simple task, since the reasons behind it are deeply embedded in the country’s economic and social structure.
In 2004, President Lula, who himself began to work at the age of eleven, declared fighting child labor a high priority.2 Although Brazil is often regarded as a positive example for other Latin American countries for its progress in the fight against child labor, more than four million Brazilian children between the ages of 5 and 17 are still working.3 Especially in the poorer northeastern part of the country, many children have no choice but to become integrated into the illegal job market.
This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Sonja Salzburger
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 | Research Memorandum 10.1
Blog de Octavio Islas 