BYD in Brazil: From the company’s triumphant arrival to a scandal involving ‘slavery-like’ working conditions
In late December inspectors rescued 163 Chinese workers from the construction site of a plant owned by the electric car manufacturer that has come to symbolize Beijing’s growing influence in the South American country
The plan is for the first Chinese electric cars made in Brazil to hit the market in March 2025. The manufacturer, BYD, is building a factory in the state of Bahia and this project serves as the best standard-bearer for the current sweet moment in the relationship between Beijing and Brasilia. The facility is expected to create thousands of jobs and is heavy with symbolism charge, occupying, in a quite literal sense, the vacuum left by the U.S. automaker Ford. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until, on Christmas Eve, a scandal broke out: Brazilian labor inspectors rescued 163 Chinese workers from the plant’s construction site, accusing their employer, a subsidiary of BYD, of subjecting them to conditions analogous to slavery. They had been working strenuous hours, living in unhealthy conditions, and some of them had their passports withheld.
