Brazilian prosecutors summon Volkswagen representatives over dictatorship-era slavery allegations

"Volkswagen subsidiary in Brazil is responsible for serious human rights violations and abhorrent crimes," says Brazilian prosecutor Rafael Garcia in the "Weltspiegel" program broadcast on German public television. "We are certain that Volkswagen will acknowledge its responsibility and that a settlement will be reached so workers of that time are compensated."

Garcia has led a task force investigating modern slavery across Brazil since 2015. Prosecutors have summoned representatives of Volkswagen to appear in Brasilia on June 14, 2022, to discuss a possible out-of-court settlement for the victims.

The task force has also examined the time of dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. In 1973, the military regime invited VW to buy 140,000 hectares of land in the state of Para in the Amazon region. The carmaker was looking to expand its operations and intended to clear the land to use as a massive cattle farm. Fazenda Vale do Rio Cristalino in Santana de Araguaia became known as the Fazenda Volkswagen.

German carmaker in the Amazon

A German carmaker raising cattle in the rainforest? This might appear strange, but it was part of a national strategy. By contributing to the development of the Amazon, Volkswagen would not only be earning money. The project would also be in keeping with the military regime's preference for using resources rather than giving them away, as per the motto "integrar para nao entregar" ("integrate so as not to surrender").

The farm managers commissioned an employment agency to clear the rainforest, recruiting temporary workers from the region's remote villages and promising them good wages. Instead, the workers faced exploitative working conditions and debt bondage. "On the farm, we could only buy food at absurd prices," recalls former worker Jose Pereira. "By the time we had cleared the first 100 hectares, we had a lot of debts with the contractor. He said to us: 'You want to go? No! You have to work off your debts first.'"

Pereira is one of the main witnesses for the case against Volkswagen. He and others also spoke with the German broadcaster ARD for the "Weltspiegel" program. They talked of being tied up after trying to escape, of being forced to work at gunpoint, and they also mentioned deaths.

"If someone tried to escape, the overseers would chase them and shoot," Pereira said. "They beat up people who tried to escape. On the street, in the shacks, everyone saw it."

Case based on records from Catholic priest

The case is also based on records compiled by Catholic priest Ricardo Rezende, who was responsible for providing pastoral care to agricultural workers at the time and campaigned for human rights and land reform. He too received many death threats.

He documented several hundred cases, but little happened for over 40 years. In 2020, however, after VW faced up to its involvement in human rights violations during the dictatorship in Brazil and agreed to pay reparations to some of victims, Rezende saw a new chance. He handed his material to the public prosecutor's office, which launched an investigation.

On May 22 of this year, he was named an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro, where he teaches at the University of Brazil, by the city parliament for his campaign against modern slavery.

Today, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) continues to campaign against slavery in Brazil. In a statement, it said that a form of slave labor existed in all of the country's states. "Since 1995, over 58,000 have been liberated from slave-like working conditions," however.

'Complete nonsense' says former manager

The Swiss agronomist and former manager of the cattle farm in Santana de Araguaia Friedrich Brügger describes the allegations that VW engaged in modern slavery as "complete nonsense." "As if there were nothing more important today than improving the past," he told "Weltspiegel."

He started work at the cattle farm in 1974, spending 12 years managing it until VW sold the business in 1986 after it became less lucrative. He returned to Switzerland after spending 40 years in Brazil.

"The responsibility of a company ends somewhere," he said, explaining that it was important to consider the circumstances. "When there are over 1,000 men in one room, things aren't always gentle. That's obvious. Especially in the middle of the jungle," he said.

These comments did not go down well at Volkswagen. "We would like to point out that Mr. Friedrich Brügger does not speak for Volkswagen AG and that his statements contradict Volkswagen's values," reads a statement provided to DW. VW took the incidents described at the Fazenda Rio Cristalino "very seriously."