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Article: Brazilians Soured by U.S. Sugar Tariffs
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 10, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Wearing a straw hat, shin guards and goggles, Joaquim Batista dos
Santos swings his machete in wide, looping arcs, hacking away at the
eight-foot-high stalks of sugar cane like a baseball player warming
up in the on-deck circle.
"I go home tired, but I am happy at the end of the day," said the
43-year-old father of twins, who earns $260 a month, an enviable sum
in this country, where millions subsist on less than the minimum
monthly wage of about $75. "My wife, my babies, they are happy and
healthy. This is a good job. No one quits. Everyone wants to work
here. My friends ask me all the time if there are openings down at
the sugar mill."
This is harvest season in Brazil's sweet spot, the ...