Maria Ednalva Bezerra de Lima (Cimissao Nacional sobre a Mulher Trabalhadores der CUT) The Situation of Brazilian Women against the Background of Globalisation The indicators of poverty in Brazil reveal horri­fying evidence of social inequality. In 1990, according to studies of the CEPAL [Regional Economic Commission of the UN for Latin America and the Caribbean], 69.8 Mio. Bra­zilians lived below the poverty line, 34.8 Mio. of whom were classified as totally poor. 45.8 Mio. of these 69.8 Mio. lived in urban areas. Looking at the per capita income(approxi­mately 75% of the world population live in countries with a per capita income lower than the Brazilian figure), it is not possible to con­sider Brazil as being a poor country. But due to the extremely inequitable distribution of income, 40% of the Brazilians live in families with a per capita income below the poverty line.' For many years, Brazilians have been led to be­lieve that the absence of a distinct segregation legislation(as it existed in the United States until the 1960s and in South Africa until the 1990s) would make Brazil an"ethnic paradise", i.e. a country without any discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin. In general belief and in the public discourse, the high percentage of mixed-race descendants in the population was considered a justification for these values of harmony. The Black Movement in Brazil, how­ever, pointed out that the"whitening" of the population through the mixing of the races was the clearest evidence of racism, as it was in­3"The main reason for poverty in Brazil is the high level of i nequality and not the low per capita income. An indicator supporting this argument: although the quantity of food­stuffs produced is twice the quantity needed for nourish­ment, a significant part of the population is starving." (Barros, Camargo, Mendonça, 1 996). tended to solve the"race problem" by the physi­cal disappearance of the black population(Soares et al., 1995). The role of women in this process of"whitening" the population or regarding the idea of creating a mixed nation was hardly ever mentioned. Numerous economic crises, high rates of infla­tion, programmes for the stabilisation of the currency carried out in Brazil in the 1980s and 1990s, were intensified by the competition with the world market, high interest rates and ele­vated exchange rates that overvalued the na­tional currency, the real. These factors have led to a shrinkage of the market and, consequently, to a high level of unemployment. Furthermore, the international scenario, characterised by the process of globalisation, by a new world-wide organisation of work and by the restructuring of production, has caused an increase in the number of unemployed and has brought on new forms of labour, normally without legal protec­tion. The loss of jobs in the industrial sector, the increase of precarious working conditions and the growth of the informal sector as a result of these radical economic changes contribute to an aggravation of the local crisis. In this con­text, women are becoming social, economic and political players of major importance. Brazil is facing an economic situation with fea­tures that often enough resemble the situation of the developed countries. At the same time, though, the country is suffering a perverted so­cial reality with an extreme disparity in the distribution of income, leading to the social ex­clusion of the majority of the population. This 9