Legal proceedings: Volkswagen has to face allegations of slave labor in Brazil
Created: 06/04/2022, 17:12
By: Bettina Menzel
A worker at the Volkswagen plant in São Bernardo do Compo, near São Paulo, Brazil, holds his hand under the VW logo.
© picture alliance / Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
At the time of the Brazilian military dictatorship, Volkswagen ran a cattle farm in Brazil.
The temporary workers are said to have been kept there like slaves - now the carmaker has to answer in court.
Brazil - In 1973, Volkswagen bought 140,000 hectares of land on the southern edge of the Amazon.
The "Fazenda Volkswagen" was built on part of this area - a cattle breeding farm, which was probably operated by the car manufacturer for reasons of tax savings.
Slave labor and human rights violations are said to have taken place there, according to research by
NDR
, SWR
and the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
On June 14, the hearing of the Volkswagen subsidiary VW do Brasil begins at the labor court in the Brazilian capital, Brasília.
Volkswagen cattle farm: allegations of slave labor and human trafficking
On the Rio Cristalino cattle farm owned by the VW subsidiary in Brazil, temporary workers are said to have been kept like slaves between 1974 and 1986.
The Brazilian public prosecutor's office has now opened preliminary proceedings against Volkswagen do Brasil.
The accusation: human trafficking, human rights violations and slave labor - supported by dozens of testimonies.
The watchers were armed, a former temporary worker told the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
Those who tried to flee were beaten and tied up naked.
One fleeing man was shot in the leg and the wife of another was raped as punishment for her husband's attempt to escape.
People were whipped.
“The workers had to work seven days a week, more than ten hours a day, without any pay.
Violence was done to you.
They were prevented from leaving the farm,” said senior prosecutor Rafael Garcia, summing up the allegations.
It is true that the temporary workers there were suppressed by employment agencies and not directly by permanent VW workers.
But the group has not done anything to improve the situation of the workers, according to a report by historian Christopher Kopper from Bielefeld University from 2017, which VW itself commissioned.
According to current research by the German media
NRD, SWR
and
Süddeutsche Zeitung
, the then VW board member in Wolfsburg is said to have known about the incidents.
Employees from Volkswagen do Brasil manufacture the Sedan (Beetle) model in a factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil - undated photo, taken around the time of the military dictatorship.
© picture alliance / dpa |
VW do Brasil |
A0009
Volkswagen collaboration with Brazilian military dictatorship proven - "We take events very seriously"
The current allegations against Volkswagen span the period from 1974 to 1986. Between 1964 and 1985 the military dictatorship ruled in Brazil.
The "Fazenda Volkswagen" was supported by the regime at the time, which wanted to promote the development of the Amazon region.
"We can assure you that we take the events described on the Fazenda Rio Cristalino very seriously," said a spokesman for Volkswagen AG when asked by the German Press Agency.
However, due to a possible legal process in Brazil, they do not want to comment further.
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It is not the first time that the VW Group has been held accountable for its collaboration with the Brazilian military dictatorship.
As early as 2017, research by the
NRD, SWR
and the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
showed that the car manufacturer was actively involved in the political suppression and persecution of opponents of the military dictatorship on the factory premises near Sao Paulo.
In 2020, VW paid 36 million real (about 5.5 million euros) in compensation to family members of employees who were tortured and killed during the military dictatorship.
Before the opening of criminal proceedings, investigators had collected evidence for three years.
According to lead prosecutor Garcia, financial compensation for the victims could also be negotiated at the hearing.
Otherwise, Volkswagen could be prosecuted.
After the allegations became known, the VW share reacted only slightly
(bm with material from dpa/AFP).