Early steps toward formalizing the legal status of workers in Brazil before the 1930 revolution

Introduction. The legal status of workers in Brazil has been traditionally associated with the processes of industrialization and policies of the Vargas Era (1930-1945). During this period, the foundation of labor legislation was established with the adoption of the Labor Code in 1943, but the preconditions for its development had been established over several centuries during the colonial period, years of the Empire, and the First Republic. To date, no comprehensive study has been conducted in Russian or foreign historical and legal research on the entire evolution of worker's legal status in Brazil prior to 1930. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of early steps leading up to the establishment of Brazilian workers' legal status prior to the 1930 Revolution, determine the role played by sociopolitical factors in its formation, and identify key stages in this process.

Materials and methods. The study employs such methods as dialectical, formal-legal, and systemic analysis. These methods allow for the identification of the relationship between legal norms and historical context. The source base includes legal acts from colonial, imperial and republican periods, including royal charters and decrees, the Brazilian Empire's Constitution of 1824, the Republic's Constitution 1891, Brazilian Empire laws and First Republic laws, as well as several decrees issued from 1881 to 1938 regulating certain aspects of workers' legal status.

Research results. The analysis reveals three key stages in the pre-revolutionary history of the legal status of workers in Brazil: the colonial period (1500- 1822), characterized by the prevalence of forced labor and the application of Portuguese laws aimed at maintaining involuntary labor; the imperial period (1822-1889), which saw the abolition of slavery and the transition of former slaves into the class of wage laborers without accompanying systemic guarantees; and the era of the First Republic (1889-1930), characterized by incomplete and fragmented regulation of the legal status of workers, lacking codification and systematization of workers' rights.

Discussion and conclusion. The main conclusion is that the process of establishing the legal status of workers in Brazil has been evolutionary. The study highlights the influence of socio-political factors on legislative processes in the area of labor. These findings are significant for understanding general trends in labor law formation and development in Latin American countries, and can be used for comparative legal research.

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