A 12-Year-Old Child and a 72-Year-Old Man Rescued From Conditions Similar to Slavery at Brazil's Largest Coffee Exporter

A 12-Year-Old Child and a 72-Year-Old Man Rescued From Conditions Similar to Slavery at Brazil’s Largest Coffee Exporter

Written by Sara Aquino

Published on 09/09/2025 at 09:35

A Cooxupé bloqueou cafeicultores envolvidos em casos de trabalho em condições análogas à escravidão na colheita. Entre os resgatados estavam crianças, idosos e famílias vulneráveis. Imagem: Reprodução/Canva Education

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Cooxupé Blocks Coffee Farmers Involved in Cases of Labor in Conditions Similar to Slavery During Harvest. Among Those Rescued Were Children, the Elderly, and Vulnerable Families.

The largest coffee cooperative in Brazil, Cooxupé, took strict measures after identifying cases of labor in conditions analogous to slavery among its members. The decision applies to five producers caught between April and August of this year, according to reports from the Ministry of Labor and Employment obtained by Repórter Brasil.

The rescues involved 81 workers, including a 12-year-old child, a 16-year-old teenager, and a 72-year-old elderly person, many in degrading situations both at work and in their living conditions.

Coffee Cooperative Acts Against Abusive Practices

In response to the identified cases, Cooxupé blocked the registrations of the five coffee farmers involved and immediately suspended the receipt of coffee from their properties.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Profile of Rescued Workers Reveals Extreme Vulnerability

Among the 81 rescued workers, the age ranged from a 12-year-old child to a 72-year-old elderly person.

They lived under degrading conditions, with precarious housing and restricted mobility due to illegal debts.

These are some of the elements that characterize labor analogous to slavery, according to Brazilian legislation.

Cooxupé Under Pressure for Ethical Conduct

In 2024, the cooperative recorded the highest revenue in its history, with R$ 10.7 billion, and exported about 80% of the 6.6 million sacks received.

In light of this economic weight, labor advocacy organizations demanded that Cooxupé enforce stricter oversight of its members.

“Given its economic size… the cooperative should set an example in ensuring decent work… they propagate worldwide that the coffee they sell is sustainable,” emphasized Jorge Ferreira dos Santos from Adere-MG.

He also warned that between 20% and 40% of the labor slavery complaints addressed by the organization involve producers linked to Cooxupé.

How the Cooperative Responded to the Accusations

In a statement, Cooxupé claims that upon becoming aware of labor violations, it adopts a clear policy: it blocks the member, suspends coffee collection, and isolates the lots, ensuring traceability and preventing irregular products from being distributed.

The cooperative also commented that its actions are guided by “respect for people, dignity of work, and social responsibility,” and maintains a program focused on human rights training.

Conclusion

The initiative of the coffee cooperative has reignited concern over failures in labor practices in the national coffee sector.

Cooxupé’s response — blocking members caught in conditions analogous to slavery — represents a necessary step, but still exposes the fragility of oversight in the field.

For Brazilian coffee to be truly sustainable, it is essential that measures like this multiply and intensify.

Only then will it be possible to protect rights and strengthen a responsible production chain.

A 12-Year-Old Child and a 72-Year-Old Man Rescued From Conditions Similar to Slavery at Brazil’s Largest Coffee Exporter

Cooxupé Blocks Coffee Farmers Involved in Cases of Labor in Conditions Similar to Slavery During Harvest. Among Those Rescued Were Children, the Elderly, and Vulnerable Families.

Coffee Cooperative Acts Against Abusive Practices

Profile of Rescued Workers Reveals Extreme Vulnerability

Cooxupé Under Pressure for Ethical Conduct

How the Cooperative Responded to the Accusations

Conclusion

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Egypt wants to draw 10 million cubic meters of water from the Nile per day into the desert, irrigate a new agricultural frontier, and build a city where there is currently only sand.

Norway is drilling 27 kilometers of rock 392 meters below the bottom of a fjord to build the world’s largest and deepest underwater road tunnel — when completed, a 21-hour journey will be reduced to 10.

Chinese engineers begin filling a 217-meter dam at an altitude of 3,000 meters and prepare a 2,240 MW hydroelectric power plant to integrate hydropower, solar, and wind energy in the upper Jinsha.

A German architect built a cylindrical house in 1994 that rotates to follow the sun throughout the day, generates 5 times more energy than it consumes, and was the world’s first energy-positive house.

An astronaut spent 340 days in space while his twin brother stayed on Earth, and NASA found a “rejuvenating” effect, genes, microbiome, cognition, and immune system that revealed the biological cost of living outside the planet.

A single solar storm can knock out satellites, wipe out GPS, and leave 40 million people without power for months — and the transformers that protect the grid take 4 years to manufacture.

Sydney is erecting the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper — it’s 40 stories of hybrid timber that sequester carbon instead of emitting it, and the tower is expected to be completed as early as 2026.

While sanitation in Brazil serves only 55% of the population and discharges sewage into rivers, Singapore already recycles 100% of the water it consumes and has transformed sewage into award-winning potable water.

The Sagrada Família in Barcelona has completed its main structure after 144 years of construction — exactly 100 years after Gaudí’s death, and the tallest tower reaches 172 meters.

A 12-Year-Old Child and a 72-Year-Old Man Rescued From Conditions Similar to Slavery at Brazil’s Largest Coffee Exporter

Cooxupé Blocks Coffee Farmers Involved in Cases of Labor in Conditions Similar to Slavery During Harvest. Among Those Rescued Were Children, the Elderly, and Vulnerable Families.

Coffee Cooperative Acts Against Abusive Practices

Profile of Rescued Workers Reveals Extreme Vulnerability

Cooxupé Under Pressure for Ethical Conduct

How the Cooperative Responded to the Accusations

Conclusion

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Egypt wants to draw 10 million cubic meters of water from the Nile per day into the desert, irrigate a new agricultural frontier, and build a city where there is currently only sand.

Norway is drilling 27 kilometers of rock 392 meters below the bottom of a fjord to build the world’s largest and deepest underwater road tunnel — when completed, a 21-hour journey will be reduced to 10.

Chinese engineers begin filling a 217-meter dam at an altitude of 3,000 meters and prepare a 2,240 MW hydroelectric power plant to integrate hydropower, solar, and wind energy in the upper Jinsha.

A German architect built a cylindrical house in 1994 that rotates to follow the sun throughout the day, generates 5 times more energy than it consumes, and was the world’s first energy-positive house.

An astronaut spent 340 days in space while his twin brother stayed on Earth, and NASA found a “rejuvenating” effect, genes, microbiome, cognition, and immune system that revealed the biological cost of living outside the planet.

INSS maximum retirement in 2026 pays R$ 8,475 per month, but only 2.1 million Brazilians out of 40 million manage to reach this amount…

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The new law No. 15,377, sanctioned by Lula and published in the Official Gazette of the Union on April 6, guarantees 3 days off for workers to undergo medical examinations.

A single solar storm can knock out satellites, wipe out GPS, and leave 40 million people without power for months — and the transformers that protect the grid take 4 years to manufacture.

Sydney is erecting the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper — it’s 40 stories of hybrid timber that sequester carbon instead of emitting it, and the tower is expected to be completed as early as 2026.

While sanitation in Brazil serves only 55% of the population and discharges sewage into rivers, Singapore already recycles 100% of the water it consumes and has transformed sewage into award-winning potable water.

The Sagrada Família in Barcelona has completed its main structure after 144 years of construction — exactly 100 years after Gaudí’s death, and the tallest tower reaches 172 meters.