Workers' Control and Social Economy in Argentina's Recuperated Enterprise Movement

Download or read book Workers' Control and Social Economy in Argentina's Recuperated Enterprise Movement written by Brian Michael Zbriger and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Argentina, over 170 bankrupt or troubled businesses have become worker-controlled cooperatives, mostly since the economic crisis of 2001-2002. This thesis assesses the possibilities presented by this so-called "recuperated enterprise" movement as a model for expanding workers' control. Spanning economic and political concerns, the primary focus is on the level of the shop floor and its relation to the surrounding community. A review of the history of class struggle in Argentina reaching back to the early 20th century helps put the movement in context and explains how it emerged. Site visits and oral history interviews conducted at eleven recuperated enterprises illuminate the extent and nature of workers' control gained by the movement, while practices of social and solidarity economy are examined as a strategy to partially overcome the obstacles that face worker cooperatives and to build power at the national and global levels.