The article reports on an empirical investigation into changes in the structural configuration of class positions and segments in Brazilian society from 1981 to 1996, applying a typology derived originally from Erik Olin Wright’s neo-marxist class scheme. The investigation focuses on structural shifts and rates of changes in class positions and segments using the shift-share approach with the purpose of shedding light on the direction, scope, and determinant factors of change. The main structural transformations were the heavy reduction in agricultural strata and the (dualistic) urban expansion of the petite bourgeoisie and precarious self-employment.
class analysis; class position structure; social structure; Brazilian society
