Informality portraits: the fragility of social protectionist systems in misfortune situations

The research has as the objective to study the strategies and social networks used by informal workers in misfortune situations. We interviewed sixteen workers of the buildings' construction sector of Sao Carlos (Sao Paulo, Brazil). We tried to understand how they deal with working capacity reduction inside a precariousness context and how they perceive these situations. The qualitative analysis shows that most of them have financial difficulties to acquire private forms of protection. We could infer that informal social networks are essential for them deal to periods of working incapacity. Moreover the nuclear and extended family supports and religious networks are predominating.