Abstract
Objective:
to understand the processes of vulnerability faced by sugarcane migrant workers in the face of advancing mechanization.
Methods:
this study adopts a qualitative approach based on the biocommunity, techno-economic and political dimensions of the social reproduction of health proposed by Juan Samaja. In total, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with sugarcane migrant workers in the period from April 2020 to December 2021.
Results:
in the techno-economic dimension, it was found that in Mill A workers have become polyvalent, with the presence of teamwork and the introduction of technologies to increase work control. In Mill B, the workers identified worse working conditions due to irrigation, irregular terrain, rocky geography, and exposure to burnings. In the biocommunity dimension, the greater chance of accidents, the use of pesticides, hydroelectrolytic disorders and cardiovascular problems were identified. In the political dimension the precariousness of health care for sugarcane workers was identified.
Conclusion:
the intensification of mechanization in sugarcane harvesting has not improved the life of sugarcane workers, on the contrary, it has caused the perpetuation of old vulnerabilities and the insertion of new ones.
Keywords:
rural health; internal migration; social determination of health; occupational health