AFTER DRAWING media attention for donating R$1 million (approximately USD 200,000) to Jair Bolsonaro’s 2022 presidential campaign, agribusinessman Oscar Luiz Cervi was cited following a June inspection by Brazil’s Ministry of Labor for keeping 35 workers in conditions analogous to slavery in the cotton fields of Fazenda Reata, in Campo Novo do Parecis, in the state of Mato Grosso.
Under Brazilian law, “conditions analogous to slavery” is a legal classification covering forced labor, exhausting working hours, degrading working or living conditions, and debt bondage or other restrictions on workers’ freedom of movement. According to the Ministry of Labor, inspectors identified both degrading conditions and restrictions on freedom of movement at Fazenda Reata.
Cervi, described as one of Brazil’s leading grain producers, supplies grain to Bunge, according to a corporate video released by the US multinational in March this year. In the video, Cervi says he has supplied the company for 42 years. He also says he planned to sell his entire cotton production to Bunge through Viterra, a Canadian multinational acquired by Bunge in 2025.
Bunge and Viterra supply raw materials to the biofuels industry and to manufacturers that produce for major fashion brands, including Lacoste, Levi’s and Gap.
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Information obtained by Repórter Brasil also indicates that soy and cotton from Fazenda Reata were supplied to Bunge’s facility in the city Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, one of the company’s largest industrial complexes in Brazil. Read more in the article: “Farm linked to slave labor holds sustainability certification and ties to luxury brands.”
Work at cotton fields without personal protective equipment
The slave labor case was uncovered on June 8 by MTE labor inspectors, with support from the Federal Police. According to information released by the ministry and reported by the Br