Of mothers, ships and cachaça: Career, crisis and disillusion in a Brazilian company portrayed as “national heritage”

Abstract

This article aims to examine certain social and symbolic contours of the world of Brazilian commercial aviation in the last decades of the 20th century, based on three metaphors that permeate the imaginaries of former employees of the extinct Varig. "Mothers", "ships" and "cachaça", signs of a singular world defined by a national economic policy shaped by the close link between market and state, will guide us through the meanings attributed to this world, which was conformed by mechanisms of rigorous selection, a type of work organization recognized as "paternalistic" and "disciplinary", with a clear "career board". Based on an ethnography carried out between 2015 and 2017 with employees of the former airline that currently reside in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and in light of recent contributions from the social sciences concerning experiences of crises, uncertainty, and hope, I interpret the great disappointment stemming from the bankruptcy of the company and its consequences on the current subjective constitution of the group of aggrieved employees.

Keywords:
Aviation; Varig; Career; Crisis; Disappointment