disposable lives

synopsis

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that modern-day slavery generates USD 150 billion in global annual revenues for its exploiters, which is three times more profitable than in the days that slavery was legal. Since 1995, more than 60,000 workers have been rescued from slavery-like working conditions in Brazil. However, in the last country in America to abolish slavery, some 370,000 workers are believed to still live under this yoke. Disposable Lives focuses on two aspects: modern slavery in rural areas, and the exploitation of an immigrant workforce by the textile industry in Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo.