“TAKE CARE OF THOSE WHO TAKE CARE OF YOU”: THE STRUGGLE OF DOMESTIC WORKERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN BRAZIL

Abstract

The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2020 imposed profound changes in the different socialization arrangements. In Brazil, its consequences were felt mainly by the black and peripheral population, who work in the most precarious occupations, often in the informal sector and who also make up a large part of the workers appointed as essential, and therefore more exposed to contamination by the virus. As an example of this picture, we analyze the impacts of the pandemic on domestic workers, a category formed mostly by black women. We consider the coloniality and structural racism of Brazilian society as fundamental dimensions for the analysis of reality, we list recent cases of violation of rights and the mobilizations put into practice by the category.