Precarious work in Latin America: the contributions of the Sociology of Labor studies on precariousness to te contexts of the region

Abstract

Currently, there is a significant dissemination of studies on precarious work in the social sciences. However, the origin and focus of the debates on the subject have been, especially, on countries with advanced capitalism, due to the financialization of companies, decentralization of production and expansion of outsourcing of the labor force, combined with the fall in unionization in those States. Thus, this article aims to analyze the study of the conceptualization of precarious work in the Latin American region, articulating the various readings of the transformations of work in the 21st century. In this context, we seek to reflect on the definitions and specificities presented by precariousness as a concept and theory in the research, understanding and analysis of Latin American reality. Thus, through a literature review, a general summary of the proposals presented by Beck, Castel and Standing is presented to reveal some of the main critical approaches to the process of precariousness. As well as the presentation of Latin American readings of Vejar, Valenzuela and De La Garza with the purpose of identifying the conditions that express the particularity of the social reality of the subcontinent. Finally, some epistemological considerations about precariousness are exposed, through the sociological and historical perspective, focusing on the dialectic of the spatial and temporal dimension of precarious work.