The Cry of Latin American Gig Workers

The article “Movimientos sociales latinoamericanos en la era del capitalismo de plataforma: la articulación en torno al sufrimiento común”, published in Revista Espirales (UNILA, 2025), dives into the heart of what is known as the “uberization” of labor. The research, by Izabela Okusiro, Joséli Gomes, and Tatiana Squeff, reveals how digital platforms—symbols of platform capitalism—have turned precarious work into routine and transformed the worker’s loneliness into an emotional commodity.
Drawing on Beverly Silver’s ideas, the authors argue that the conflict between capital and labor remains an open wound of the system: wherever profit expands, rebellions emerge. Even when facing algorithms that monitor every delivery, drivers and couriers across Latin America form invisible alliances driven by shared suffering—marked by exhaustion, injustice, and neglect.
According to the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest, the continent accounted for 19% of global protests between 2017 and 2023, with a major surge in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. In Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, movements such as Breque dos Apps and #YoNoReparto became digital cries of insurrection that crossed borders.
The study also exposes the performative strategies of corporations, which blend marketing with manipulation, while governments yawn in the face of connected revolt.
With sharp and provocative writing, the article explores global precarity and the experiences of resistance. On the streets and on screens, the authors discuss how workers are “hacking” the system and turning algorithms into battlegrounds.

Read the full article: MOVIMENTOS SOCIALES LATINOAMERICANOS EN LA ERA DEL CAPITALISMO DE PLATAFORMA: LA ARTICULACIÓN EN TORNO AL SUFRIMENTO COMÚN | Revista Espirales