Brazil’s secretary of labor inspection was fired for adding Chinese automaker BYD to a registry ‌of employers accused of subjecting workers to conditions described by the government as similar to slavery, two people close to the matter told Reuters.

Luiz Felipe Brandao de Mello disobeyed an order from Labor Minister Luiz Marinho to leave the electric vehicle maker off Brazil’s ​labor abuse “dirty list,” said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

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His dismissal … is the latest flashpoint in a crisis between President Luiz Inacio Lula ⁠da Silva’s government and the traditionally independent inspectors who target serious labor abuses. Marinho has previously been accused of interfering ​in their work to keep big companies off the list.

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‘POLITICAL INTERFERENCE’ Brazil’s national association of labor inspectors, Anafitra, criticized the firing, adding that it weakens Brazil’s fight against labor abuses and undermines the impact of the list, considered a powerful tool in such cases.

“The ​dismissal of the secretary signals an escalation of political interference in labor inspections,” Anafitra said in a statement.

The focus ​on BYD follows a 2024 case in which 163 Chinese workers employed by a contractor were found building the automaker’s flagship factory ‌in Brazil ⁠under what Brazilian officials described as “slavery-like” conditions.

The scandal hurt BYD’s reputation and delayed construction for months in Brazil, the company’s largest market after China.

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Marinho told Mello to hold off adding BYD’s name, without citing any technical justification, the sources said.

Two days later, a court granted BYD an injunction removing it ​from the list. A final ruling is pending.

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BYD has boasted strong ties to Brazil’s ​leftist government, ⁠with Lula attending an inauguration of its factory in October, despite the ongoing labor abuse case at the time.

Beyond reputational damage, firms added to the list are barred from getting certain kinds of loans from Brazilian banks.

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