Dissertação
Carroceiros de Cruz Alta/RS: trabalho de coleta de materiais recicláveis e disputas por reconhecimentos sociais
Fecha
2022-11-24Autor
Cidade, Rodrigo Berttoni
Institución
Resumen
This dissertation thematizes work relationships of cart drivers and their social strategies
to maintain themselves in the collection of recyclable materials, in the municipality of
Cruz Alta-RS. The research aims to understand the social processes that produced
workers who collect recyclable materials, the daily work in the city and the social
struggles to remain in the activity, in the face of the growth of animal rights movements.
The research used a qualitative approach. The research sample consisted of twelve cart
drivers, residents of different neighborhoods, chosen for their participation in resistance
struggles in maintaining their craft and for participating in a social project instituted by
the municipal power. The research data were collected from a semi-structured interview
and from the observation of a daily work day of a cart driver. The life trajectories of these
cart drivers are marked by processes of social exclusion in rural areas, lack of work
opportunities in urban areas and the precariousness of education and social assistance
policies. Cartwrights seek to establish partnership and care relationships with their horses,
to keep them well fed and able to do the job. Cart drivers organize their daily work in
different ways, but they always have “luck” to find a large amount of recyclable materials
or receive donations of furniture, appliances, money, food, clothes, among other
consumer goods. Cart drivers make up the family income through the sale of recyclable
waste and through income transfer programs, which are difficult to balance in managing
family needs and maintaining the animal and equipment on the cart. The municipal
administration does not have permanent laws and public policies for the social recognition
of the cart driver's craft. The use of horses has become a social problem, built by animal
rights societies and the passing of animal rights protection laws. The cart drivers organize
struggles for the rights to work, access to the city and recyclable materials, as well as
raising debates on the environmental importance of work, for the reduction of waste
discarded by the society of Cruz Alta. It is concluded that the lack of legal recognition of
the work and the performance of socially organized agents in defense of animals are
challenges for the continuity of the work of the cart drivers.