To Be a Worker: Identity and Politics in Peru is about the struggle of the Peruvian working class during the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1970s—under the regime of General Juan Velazco Alvarado and General Francisco Morales Bermúdez—and during the 1980s—under presidents Fernando Belaunde Terry and Alan García—a number of labor rights were granted in Peru. However, during the 1990s—with Alberto Fujimori's democratic and later dictatorial government—labor rights almost disappeared completely and the overall situation of the Peruvian working-class decayed drastically. In this book, Parodi's primary concerns are workers' daily lives and their role in Peruvian politics. Consequently throughout the book he analyzes the origin of their social identity, their relation to income and to the unions. His principal case of study is Metallurgical workers.