Another Dante’s inferno in a gold mine during the Vargas era: Nova Lima, Minas Gerais

Abstract

This article analyzes the control strategies in place at Morro Velho mine in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and the changes after the implementation of labor legislation during the Vargas administration. The diseases common amongst mine workers, silicosis and arsenicosis, are investigated through statements given by former miners and a book by an anonymous author that discusses the diseases and the power relations between employers and employees, identifying the limitations of the legislation and the workers’ struggles. The book presents a striking story of how for many years the British company side-stepped laws such as the insalubrity premium, a right which other mining companies, not only of British ownership, flouted and still flout in different parts of the world.

workers’ memory; Getúlio Vargas (1882-1954); occupational diseases; Morro Velho mine; history of Minas Gerais