A POLÍTICA DE ERRADICAÇÃO DO TRABALHO INFANTIL NO MARANHÃO (2016–2024): Uma avaliação de possíveis impactos a partir da PNAD Contínua

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the potential impacts of the Child Labor Eradication Policy in the state of Maranhão from 2016 to 2024, based on data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Continua). The study starts from the understanding that child labor is a historically produced and socially determined phenomenon, directly related to the structural inequalities that mark Brazilian social formation, especially in peripheral contexts characterized by poverty, informality, and the fragility of public policies. The research is guided by the following question: how did child labor indicators evolve in Maranhão between 2016 and 2024, and how does this evolution reveal the structural socioeconomic determinants that condition the effectiveness of the policy to eradicate this phenomenon in the state? The general objective is to evaluate the potential impacts of the Child Labor Eradication Policy in Maranhão, identifying trends, socioeconomic determinants, and structural limitations of the policy. The theoretical and methodological framework adopted is historicaldialectical materialism, understanding child labor as an expression of the contradictions between capital and labor and the reproduction of social inequalities. This is an evaluative research, with a mixed approach (quantitative-qualitative), based on descriptive and comparative analysis of data from the PNAD Contínua (Continuous National Household Sample Survey), articulated with a critical interpretation of specialized literature, national and international normative frameworks, and public policies to combat child labor. The results show that, although there have been reductions in the indicators throughout the historical series, Maranhão remains among the states with the highest rates of child labor in the country, especially in informal activities and the worst forms of exploitation. It is concluded that the limits of the policy to eradicate child labor are directly related to the persistence of structural determinants such as poverty, racial inequality, precariousness of adult work, and institutional fragility, demonstrating that normative and programmatic advances, although relevant, have not been sufficient to ensure the effective overcoming of the phenomenon.