The role of circular labor migration in the São Paulo sugar industry's labor process is documented using origin and destination level data. Examination of origin-level data from the Jequitinhonha Valley of Minas Gerais and a review of the historical development of the São Paulo sugar industry demonstrate the special conditions that contribute to this seasonal and highly repetitive flow of manpower. These data also help explain the prevalence of piece-rate wages in the cane-fields and the persistence of a well-developed labor brokerage system. Results show how a combination of structural conditions and employer and worker preferences combine to perpetuate a system of extreme worker exploitation and poverty.
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