Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner faced a major test in the recent mid-term election in which she lost 
considerable power and her party's congressional majority vanished. The June 28 mid-term election could be better described as a referendum on Fernandez. As the first woman president elect her party fed the fire, turning the elections into a poll on the President's popularity. More than 70 percent of voters voted for opposition parties, according to official election results - indicator that Fernandez's popularity and support for her Peronist leaning party, Frente Para la Victoria (FPV) may be waning among the 19 million voters who went to the polls.
The Kirchner's have dominated the Argentine political scene since Nestor Kirchner, her husband, was elected in 2003 and credited for the nation's rapid recovery from the 2001 financial crisis which devastated the economy. Opting out of re-election in 2007, his wife Fernandez de Kirchner ran and took office with an 80 percent approval rating. However, the good times for Latin America's "power couple" who have also been described as the Kirchner dynasty were short lived as the economic crisis hindered hopes for continued 2003-2007 economic growth.
President Fernandez de Kirchner called for early elections originally scheduled for October so that her administration and legislative bodies "can focus on how to tackle the economic crisis." But many analysts claim that the government pushed elections up early so that Fernandez could avoid blame on how her government has handled the economic crisis which is beginning to take hold of South America's second largest economy.
The fall was hard for the Kirchner's. Nestor Kirchner lost the high profile political race in Buenos Aires province, the province with the most voters, by a small margin. He was defeated by Francisco de Narvárez, a wealthy heir from the conservative-right coalition Union PRO. Narváez, an unlikely candidate, Columbian-born with a tattoo on his neck and son of a supermarket giant, reveled in his victory as the working-class suburbs of Buenos Aires had long been Kirchner's electoral home turf. The very next day Fernandez abruptly resigned as leader of the Peronist party. Despite the loss, President Fernandez de Kirchner played down the election results citing that it was a close race and diversity in the legislature will help the democratic process.
What caused this fall from grace? And what's next for Argentina?
The center-right candidates from the Union PRO won the most ground in both the nation's autonomous capital district and in the Buenos Aires province. The candidate of the PRO party, Gabriela Michetti, won the congressional elections in Buenos Aires City with 31.08 percent of the votes. Both PRO candidates Michetti and Narváez marketed themselves for voters who "don't like the Kirchners." They called for a regression to policies implemented in the 90's favoring markets, foreign investors, and the privatization of public services, while tackling crime with a hard hand.
However, there are other indicators that voters would like the President to turn more to the left, rather than remain in the center. Fernando "Pino" Solanas, candidate for the leftist leaning Proyecto de Sur coalition and the director of the classic political film The Hour of the Furnaces, came in second winning 24.5 percent of votes in the capital. His campaign focused on the renationalization of natural resources like the nation's mining and oil industries.
Fernandez adopted many policies, which the nation's consolidated press described as unpopular and probably were for the business community which has benefited from decades of government subsidies, but received approval from unions, social movements, and regional partners such as Venezuela and other members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), a regional leftist trade bloc. She nationalized pension funds almost bankrupted by private companies that acquired retirees' pensions in the 1990's. The President also supported the legislative move to renationalize the country's largest airline. The formerly state-owned Aerolinas Argentina was privatized in 1990, but the government said that mismanagement put the carrier into 900 million dollars in debt. These measures, described as erratic and combative, were a move away from the 2001 neoliberal policies, adopted under former neo-conservative Peronist President Carlos Menem (1989-1999), which caused the country to go broke.
The economy, which saw economic growth under her husband topping 8 percent from 2003-2007, has now slowed down to a reported 2 percent, likely an inflated figure. For example, leading up to the elections, the national statistic institute (INDEC) was accused of inflating numbers to show that the country's economy is on track. Independent analysts say that the inflation rate, published at 9.6 percent, is much higher than official statistics. Unemployment figures are relatively low, officially reported at 8 percent. Economists estimate that more than 50,000 people have lost their jobs since the onset of the current economic crisis.
In a positive step, the President has finally spoken in defense of workers who occupy their workplaces in order to keep their jobs. The national government would like to modify the nation's bankruptcy laws, which currently favor creditors and bankrupt businesses rather than workers, to make it easier for workers to start up cooperatives.
Union groupings held numerous protests and even a national strike calling on Fernandez to implement protection measures for job security and wealth redistribution as recession slowly unfolds in the nation's industry. Consumer associations are also demanding price controls on food and consumer products. But following the June 28 election, business community announced price increases. Fernandez has reluctantly imposed price controls, essential with rising inflation so that the majority of the population can access basic goods like milk, meat and bread. In addition to inflation, basic goods have become more expensive since enormous monoculture soy plantations now dominate the countryside.
Argentina's soy farmers tried their hardest to influence the mid-term elections, but failed to win much political ground. Agrarian associations representing the country's soy farmers proved to be the president's biggest challenge since taking office. In 2008 and into 2009, farmers held several paralyzing strikes over the government's decision to increase an export tax on soy, a policy carried over from Nestor Kirchner, who upped the tax to 35% as an emergency measure to revive the economy after the crisis. Many of the provinces where the opposition won votes are precisely the bread-basket producing provinces, where the production of genetically modified soy has invaded more than 42 million acres of fertile land. It's unlikely that the government will reverse its support of the soy tax, as revenue from soy exports topped nearly 16 billion dollars in 2008 alone, crucial income for the government's treasury reserves. One agro-leader and hopeful governor candidate, Alfredo De Angeli received heavy criticisms after he said that in order to defeat the Kirchner's land owners should "find the farmhands on the estates, put them on a truck and tell them who they should vote for." A number of agro-leaders ran for congress hoping to win 17 percent of seats but fell short only winning a Senate seat and lower house seats.
A health crisis is looming due to the spread of the deadly H1N1 "swine flu" virus. As voters went to the polls, many voted wearing surgical masks and registry personnel were instructed not to shake voter's hands. More than 26 have died from the deadly epidemic and more than 1,500 have been infected with the virus. The Southern Hemisphere's winter temperatures are accelerating the spread of the virus. Yet the government has delayed declaration of a health emergency, resulting in the Health Minister Graciel Ocaña's resignation the day after the June 28 elections. It may have been prudent to hold off an election to deal with the deadly epidemic. Like many of the nation's structural problems such as the economy and growing crime the government opted to ignore the dilemma rather than dealing with it. The epidemic may spiral into a real crisis for the already stumbling economy.
What's next? President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and the new legislative representatives taking their posts this December are going to face many challenges as the economy takes an inevitable severe downturn. How they come out of the crisis is part of the game of politics. One of the first challenges for the President post-elections will be to take a strong stance in her foreign policy favoring regional integration and cooperation among progressive governments. Indeed, she is traveling with the OAS commission to escort illegally and forcibly exiled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya back to his country. Fernandez will also have to decide whether to reverse her anti-IMF discourse to gain loans to help meet the nearly 20 billion dollars in debt payments due by the end of 2010. At this point, the President can continue to push forward an alternative agenda or go back to the neoliberal model, but this election, as well as the regional trend in governing, suggests that Argentina and the region are ready for the alternative.
Marie Trigona is an independent journalist and radio producer based in Buenos Aires. www.mujereslibres.blogspot.com
Read full article In Argentina, media concentration dates back to when the 1976-1983 military dictatorship censored most of the press and implemented harsh laws to prevent opposition from being publicly expressed. Media legislation from Argentina's dictatorship is still intact today.
But over the past decades groups have emerged that produce alternative and independent media for television, radio, and video to counter mass media's misinformation. They face legal challenges and a lack of resources, yet the independent media movement continues to grow.
A History of Fighting for Access
Argentina's radio broadcasting law (Ley de Radiodifusión 22.285) dates back to 1980, when the military dictatorship was still in power. Dictator Jorge Rafael Videla sanctioned the law, which guaranteed private media holders large profits, promised support for the dictatorship from media outlets, and silenced journalists from reporting on the systematic genocide taking place in the nation. Commando groups killed more than 100 journalists during the military dictatorship.
Lack of Media Diversity
Corporate concentration of the media has practically eliminated diversity in media and especially TV programming. There's little difference between what is shown on each of the stations. News programs spend more time reporting on petty robberies than actual news events happening throughout the country. A new trend in Argentine television is the rise of shows like "Dancing with the Stars" and "Big Brother," which have been adapted for a South American audience, and have won record ratings among the nearly 30 million Argentine viewers. Even government representatives from the Federal Broadcasting Committee, Argentina's broadcast media regulator, admit that TV programming is filled with junk. In a recent interview, Claudio De Cousandier, director of the Federal Broadcasting Committee, said that deregulation and media consolidation can be blamed for the current state of TV in Argentina. "Due to further deregulation, media groups can hold newspapers, television broadcast channels, and cable TV stations—leading us to media concentration and even a monopoly. In the past two years the Federal Broadcasting Committee has faced pressure to open negotiations for more access for broadcast licenses for low-broadcast signal stations, but a lot of interests and money is involved." For years, community media groups and human rights organizations have fought for new media legislation. Starting in 2008, more than 300 social organizations, union groupings, human rights groups, small business, and some community media organizations formed an official advisory committee to debate a new media law. After nearly 30 years of dictatorship legislation, the law may undergo a reform to include community media and improve access and diversity in TV and radio. The Coalition for Democratic Broadcast Regulation, made up of hundreds of organizations, led a letter campaign, presenting a formal letter to President Cristina Kirchner providing guidelines for a new bill proposal. The Coalition played an important role in developing the 21 point legislation that has been adopted by the president. Community groups' efforts have begun to pay off. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner presented a bill to change the current dictatorship law on March 18, 2009. Many journalists, actors, and media figures have supported the president's imitative, called the Audiovisual Communication Service law (SCA, by its Spanish initials). The law states: "Airwaves belong to the community, they are the patrimony of humanity ... they should be administered by the State with democratic criteria." The SCA law calls for several fundamental changes to media legislation. The most important aspect of the law is the following: The law would reserve 33% of airwaves for non-profit groups. This would ensure that community associations, non-profits, and universities have guaranteed access to broadcast licenses. Media activists in Latin America have dispelled the myth that you can create media only with state-of-the-art equipment and corporate financing. Community television and radio have been around for decades. Argentina had a 24-hour pirate television station called Utopia that aired in the 90s. Brazil is home to Radio Favela, broadcasting radio in the nation's Favela's (marginalized shanty towns) since the late 80s. Many documentary producers in the Southern Cone utilized film and even intercepted TV signals to resist repressive dictatorships during the 70s. Despite the dictatorship-era law, grassroots groups are fighting to build experiences of community television. The idea is to establish legitimacy and use it as a base to fight for legal recognition. The logic of community television organizers is quite similar to the logic of Argentina's recuperated enterprises. When left with no other option, workers decided to take over factories and take charge of production themselves. Only later, when they had the support of the community and proved that they could run a factory did they demand legality.Citizens Demand New Legislation
Building Alternatives
emulated in the psychedelic inspired 1971 film. Charlie a poor, well intentioned boy wins the Willy Wonka chocolate factory in a stroke of good fortune - every child's fantasy and utopia. But would what happen if Charlie grew older and greedy against the advice of Willy Wonka? If he ran the chocolate factory into ruins, throwing out the workers and closing up shop? And what if the oompa loompas would take over the plant to demand their unpaid salaries and severance pay? What if they would decide to start up production without Charlie, collectively running the plant and relating to other worker occupied factories? Well, this alternate version of the childhood story is becoming a reality for workers in Argentina.| Written by Marie Trigona | |
| Wednesday, 27 May 2009 Upsidedownworld.org | |
 Photo Courtesy of Prensa Obreros Zanon Zanon Ceramics, now known as FASINPAT (Factory without a boss), has re-defined the basis of production: without workers, bosses are unable to run businesses; without bosses, workers can do it better. As the largest recuperated factory in Argentina, and occupied since 2001, the Zanon ceramics plant in the Patagonian province of Neuquén now employs 470 workers. This month, the FASINPAT collective is a step closer in winning permanent control of the factory. The provincial government presented a bill in the provincial legislature for the expropriation of the factory. If this bill is passed, and it looks favorable, it would mean a solution to the workers’ long standing legal woes. Since the plant began production under worker control in 2002, they have faced numerous eviction threats and other violent attacks. The government has tried to evict them five times using police operatives. On April 8, 2003, during the most recent eviction attempt, over 5,000 community members from Neuquén came out to defend the factory. In a press release, the worker collective said that the legislature received the bill was a positive step. “The historic progress we made today was the result of a hard fight. The collective struggle and mobilization of Worker Self-management, along with the workers in this country, community support and international recognition has made this possible.” In 2001, Zanon’s owners decided to close their doors and fire the workers without paying months of back pay or indemnity. Leading up to the massive layoffs and the plant’s closure, workers went on strike in 2000. The owner, Luis Zanon with over 75 million dollars in debt to public and private creditors, fired en masse most of the workers and closed the factory in 2001—a bosses’ lockout. In October 2001, workers declared the plant under worker control. The workers camped outside the factory for four months, pamphleting and partially blocking a highway leading to the capital city Neuquén. While the workers were camping outside the factory, a court ruled that the employees could sell off remaining stock. After the stock ran out, on March 2, 2002, the workers’ assembly voted to start up production without a boss. For more than eight years, FASINPAT has created jobs, supported community projects and shown the world that we don’t need bosses. Luis Zanon´s debts of over $70 million are still outstanding, while many of the creditors want their money back, pushing for the eviction and foreclosure of the ceramics plant. The current bill presented in the legislature would mean that the state would pay off 22 million pesos (around $7 million) to the creditors. One of the main creditors is the World Bank – which gave a loan of 20 million dollars to Luis Zanon for the construction of the plant, which he never paid back. The other major creditor is the Italian company SACMY that produces state of the art ceramics manufacturing machinery and is owed over $5 million. Omar Villablanca, a worker at Zanon said that the workers are most concerned about providing job continuity – safeguarding the 470 jobs that the factory without a boss have created and maintained since 2001. He stressed that FASINPAT needs a formal long-term legal solution in order to survive as a competitive business in a faltering economy. “The state needs to make laws so that workers can work. In eight years we haven’t asked the state for anything other than an expropriation law,” said Jose Luis Paris, another worker from FASINPAT. Economic Crisis Grips Argentina Argentina is in a better position than other Latin American nations in the face of the deepening global crisis. From 2003 to 2007, Argentina enjoyed a high economic growth rate, between 8 and 9 percent. However, with the global economy in recession the nation’s growth has come to a halt, and it is expected that Argentina will see a drastic drop Gross Domestic Product in 2010. Many independent analysts expect that the global recession will affect Argentina's real economy, that's to say industry and employment rates will suffer from the crisis, rather than the financial sector which already took a major blow in 2001. Those who benefited from Argentina’s economic recovery of course are now those who are using this crisis as an excuse to downsize and lay-off workers. The current government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has bolstered that unemployment has gone done from the staggering numbers post-2001 crisis. Many of those jobs are subcontracted and underpaid. Official unemployment statistics, which have been under fire for being conveniently inaccurate, report unemployment at 8 percent. However, many independent analysts say that the actual rate is much higher. Eduardo Lucita, economist from Economists of the Left said that analysts don’t have exact numbers because many of the firings are of workers without formal contracts and can’t be tracked. “Argentina has already had a crisis in the financial sector in 2001. The current crisis is directly affecting Argentina’s real economy. Since October, there are more than 50,000 people who are now unemployed. There have been mass firings, lay-offs and pay cuts.” Workers Paying for the Crisis In the failing economy, the jobs at FASINPAT are more important than ever. But the government seems to have all but forgotten that the recuperated enterprises and worker cooperatives provide nearly 20,000 jobs for Argentina, while the government has failed to provide a long-term legal solution to the workers without bosses or subsidies that standard businesses regularly have access to. Another factor in the struggle at FASINPAT is the lack of subsidies for the cooperative. Sales have dropped by 40-50 percent since 2008 due to a radical slow-down in the construction industry nationally. “Because of the drop in construction, we aren’t producing as much,” says Paris. In 2006, the plant produced 400,000 square meters of ceramics per month, today that number has gone down to 150,000 square meters per month. The cooperative has had to shut off some of the ovens and shorten production shifts. On top of this drop; the workers controlling the factory have had to face sky-rocketing energy prices. The workers pay over 300,000 dollars a month for electricity and gas. And for Paris, the workers should not have to pay more than other businesses do: “Many industry leaders get government energy subsidies up to 70 percent. We want to buy directly from the gas companies to lower our costs or receive subsidies that we are entitled to.” Many of the 200 worker controlled businesses and factories in Argentina are being affected by the crisis. But unlike their capitalist counterparts, the worker cooperatives are taking any measure possible to avoid laying off workers, something which they are opposed to doing. “We aren’t like the capitalists. You can’t throw workers out like they are lice,” said Candido Gonzalez, a veteran worker from Chilavert worker occupied print factory in Buenos Aires, one of the first occupied plants after the 2001 crisis. During the Argentina's financial crisis in 2001, he occupied his workplace and fought until he and his fellow workers won legal recognition. Now that business is slowing down, many assemblies at the worker occupied factories would rather accept collective pay cuts, than their fellow workers lose their jobs. When Capitalism Fails – Occupy, Resist and Produce Capitalism has taken a turn for the worse, spinning itself out of control into a downward spiral which many are characterizing as the second depression of the century. And during this crisis, there are going to be winners and losers. The winners? Most likely big business and banks receiving bailout plans. The losers? The millions who are facing unemployment, dropping wages and inflation. “During a capitalist crisis, when the businessmen and governments are trying to unload all their responsibilities onto the workers of the world, Zanon under worker self-management, is a clear example of how workers can come out of this crisis,” say the workers at FASINPAT. Since late 2008 there have been several new factory takeovers in Argentina. Many workers from the newly occupied factories say that their bosses saw the crisis as the perfect opportunity to clear their debts by closing up shop, fraudulently liquidating assets, firing workers and later re-start production under a new firm. “[However] Many companies are still open because they are afraid of the recovered factory phenomenon; we have to keep them scared,” said Paris from Zanon. In almost all of the newly recuperated factories, the workers suggest that the owners had no real reason to close up shop – meaning that the businesses had production demand. I have heard workers on numerous occasions say that during the crisis, the bosses are taking advantage of the situation of a recession. The worker controlled factories and businesses occupied after 2001 may not be by themselves a social revolution, but the example of worker self-management has helped many workers today facing the possibility of losing their jobs with the idea that they can occupy their workplace in order to defend their rights as laborers. Nearly 10 factories have been occupied since 2008. This may be a sign that workers are confronting the global financial crisis with lessons and tools from previous worker occupied factories. Strategically, the previous worker occupied factories have been fundamental in providing advice of all kinds, including legal, political, production and moral. For many at the recuperated enterprises, the occupation of their workplace meant much more than safe-guarding their jobs, it also became part of a struggle for a world without exploitation. “The recuperated enterprises are working to change society. We are changing the way of working, working without exploitation and show workers that we can function without bosses,” says Jorge Suarez from Hotel BAUEN, an operating worker occupied hotel in down town Buenos Aires. Argentina's worker factory takeovers reflect a strategy of workers defending their rights and taking hold of their own destiny. Hard times require desperate measures – and one measure may be for workers to occupy, resist and produce. Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and filmmaker based in Argentina. She can be reached at mtrigona@msn.com |
By Trigona, Marie
On March 13th, 2009, Tristan Anderson, from Oakland, California, was critically injured in the village of Ni'lin after Israeli forces shot him in the head with a high-powered tear-gas canister. Tristan is a dedicated activist and reporter who has long been committed to social and environmental justice in the U.S. and abroad in places such as Oaxaca, Iraq, and Palestine. Tristan has posted his reports to Indybay since 2001.
DIY TV
Ágora TV was built at the same time the collective was trying to set up a permanent community television station in Buenos Aires. Because legislation bars community television stations from attaining broadcast licensing and lack of financial support, the station never got off the ground.
Radio Report
uenos-aires/3931December, 10 2008 Znet Commentary
By Trigona, Marie
For many the worker occupation of the Chicago Republic Windows and Doors plant on December 5 may have come as a surprise. But for US workers who are facing a very bleak economic horizon - the Chicago sit-down strike has ignited a spark amongst workers fed up with corporate bailouts and job losses. In the midst of an overwhelming financial crisis, massive layoffs and a deepening economic recession workers are left with little other option that to take direct action in order to defend their rights.
In Chicago, a group of workers decided to occupy their plant - to demand severance pay and benefits after being abruptly fired. Inside the plant, 50 workers rotated during the occupation - sitting firmly on fold out chairs and taking care of the now quiet machinery. Outside, supporters and fellow unionists carried banners in solidarity with the Chicago sit-down strike stating "Bank of the America gets bail out, workers get sold out."
The workers at the Chicago Republic Windows and Doors plant are setting an example for the millions of people who are set to lose their jobs in the US recession. They are the voice of workers who see the emergency bailout plans for Wall Street as unfair and ultimately hurt working America. One of the winners on Wall Street, Bank of America, the second largest bank in the US and major beneficiary to the government's bailout plan for banks, refused to loan the company Republic Windows and Doors 1.5 million dollars the company owed to the 200 workers in severance and vacation pay.
"Millions of workers in the United States are seeing their jobs torn away from them or their work hours reduced. Most are just swept under the rug by management," says Daniel Gross, organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World. The unemployment rate in the US has hit a 15-year-high with nearly 1.9 million jobs lost thus far in 2008. With the economy showing no signs of recuperating in the coming months, unfair layoffs and fraudulent bailouts may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Gross continues, "The Republic Windows and Doors workers would have gone that way too. But instead they took the simple, elegant step of sitting-down and occupying their factory."
Worker occupations have been used since the onset of the industrial revolution as a strategy for workers to defend themselves against deplorable work conditions, unsafe workplaces and firings. In Latin America, workers have used the factory occupation not only to make their demands heard but to put into practice worker self-management.
Argentina's workers lived through a similar crisis eight years earlier, during the nation's worst financial crisis ever in December 2001. Growing unemployment, capital flight, and industry break-up served as the backdrop for factory takeovers. Unemployment hit record levels - over 20% unemployed and 40% of the population unable to find adequate employment. The result was hundreds of factories and businesses occupied by the workers. In most cases the workers occupied their workplace to demand unpaid salaries, severance pay, social security and past due vacation time. In many cases the occupation was a guarantee that the owners wouldn't be able to ransack machinery and remaining stock to later sell off. But their demands steadily grew to safe guard their jobs. With little hope that bosses would ever return to pay workers what they owed, workers devised plans to start up production with no boss or owner what so ever.
More than 10,000 workers are employed by Argentina's 200 worker occupied factories. Many of these recuperated enterprises are now facing eviction threats. The workers at the Argentine worker occupied factories often say that they are accomplishing what bosses aren't interested in doing, creating jobs and producing for the community.
Reflecting on the current economic crisis in the US, many Argentine workers without bosses are wondering when US workers will follow in their footsteps. At a panel discussion on recuperated enterprises in November Ernesto Gonzalez, a worker at the worker-run Chilavert printing press posed this question. "Imagine if we had General Motors in Detroit under worker control...we could change the world. Why not if it happens here on the opposite end of the world?"
The idea of America's automakers in Detroit producing as workers cooperatives may seem like a crazy dream. For Gonzalez, who works at a Chilavert a worker occupied print factory in Buenos Aires, this dream is a reality. During the South American nation's financial crisis in 2001, he occupied his workplace and fought until he and his fellow workers won legal recognition.
But it wasn't Detroit where automaker GM is eagerly awaiting a 15 billion dollar emergency loan. Workers occupied their factory in Chicago, home of the Haymarket martyrs and hub of radical union organizing, in one of the first US factory occupation since the sit-down strikes of the 1930's.
Both the Chicago Windows and Doors occupation and Argentina's worker factory takeovers reflect a strategy of workers defending their rights and taking hold of their own destiny. Hard times require desperate measures - workers in the US are finally standing up. "The result [of the Chicago sit-in strike] has been electrifying," says Gross. "Workers around the country are expressing solidarity and ideas are percolating in terms of people's own work situations." In a show that times are changing, even president elect Barak Obama sent words of support for the Republic Windows and Doors workers.
Meanwhile, in Argentina some of the most successful examples of worker self-management are facing serious legal attacks. Many of these recuperated enterprises are now facing eviction threats, with local and national government unwilling to grant laws in favor of worker self-management. Hotel BAUEN is one such example. The 19-story, 180 room hotel has been operational since workers took it over in 2003. Last year a federal judge issued the BAUEN cooperative an eviction notice. A national expropriation law may be the co-op's last legal resource, with the eviction notice still withstanding.
According to Fabio Resino, a worker from the BAUEN cooperative, fears over imminent job losses in Argentina's economy spiraled by the deepening global crisis may be fueling the government's refusal to back worker occupied factories. "BAUEN's situation is not an isolated process. It's an attack to stop a process which began in 2001, when workers took over business that the former bosses were emptying out. Now is a very critical moment for the country, where the global crisis can cause factory closures and mass firings like we have been seeing. For many of those in power, it's not convenient to have the example of the recuperated enterprises which is why the recovery of businesses and worker self-management is being attacked."
Argentina's worker occupied factories have successfully put into a practice ideas that directly challenge the logic of capitalism: Occupy, Resist, Produce. They have built democratic workplaces, community projects and solidarity networks with social movements around the world. But most importantly, they have questioned the capitalist model of putting profits over people. This may be the clue to why Argentina's government does not support many worker self-managed factories and businesses.
Many colleagues have drawn parallels between the Chicago factory sit-in and Argentina's worker uprising. "Though the worker occupation of Republic Windows and Doors is different in many respects to examples of worker occupations in Argentina, it is worth reflecting on the strikingly similar situations workers in both countries found themselves in, and how they are fighting back," wrote Upsidedownworld.org editor Ben Dangl in a recent article. Dangl is correct that workers worldwide may be inspired by the unexpected decision made by the Republic Windows and Doors workers to occupy their plant to make their demands heard.
The Chicago factory sit in not only offers a window into hard times, but also a strategy into building change from the ground up. Could the occupation in Chicago set into motion a domino effect? Argentina's worker occupied businesses and factories offer a window into what the world would look like if the domino effect would be set into motion on a massive scale. The world would be a place without bosses, hierarchy, oppression or exploitation. Who knows, the occupation in Chicago and the success of worker self-management in Argentina may be signs that the world is ready for this utopian dream to become a reality.
Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and filmmaker based in Buenos Aires. She can be reached at mtrigona@msn.com. For more information on Argentina's recuperated enterprises visit www.agoratv.org
Written by Marie Trigona Wednesday, 07 May 2008Puthod was last seen leaving human rights offices dedicated to investigating crimes committed during the nation’s bloody 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Relatives and rights activists worry Puthod was kidnapped in order to silence him and other witnesses. The first disappeared witness Julio Lopez went missing September 18, the eve of the landmark conviction of Miguel Etchecolatz, the first military officer to be tried for crimes against humanity and genocide.
Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and filmmaker based in
May Day special coverage:
Written by Marie Trigona Friday, 18 April 2008The debate over soy has riveted the country, and has proven to be a major crisis for the first woman elected president of
Crippling Farmers’ Strike
The government implemented a tax on soy exports at a rate of 45%, up from 35% in early March. Farmers became angry and went on strike. For more than 20 days the nation-wide farmers’ strike paralyzed food deliveries. The strikers, demanding that the government roll back the tax hike, threw the country into turmoil for much of March. Supermarket shelves were scarce and meat coolers in butcher shops were completely empty for nearly two weeks. The strike had almost entirely blocked food supplies from being delivered to
Global soy prices have soared in recent years, making the agro sector the nation’s most profitable. Cristina Kirchner’s soy export tax is a policy carried over from her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, who upped the tax to 35% as an emergency measure to revive the economy after the 2001 crisis. According to political economist Atilio Boron, the tax hike hit small farmers while large land owners could afford to move production to more lucrative nations like
In response to the farmers’ strike, president Kirchner has vowed not to back down on the tax hike. This is the biggest conflict so far in president Kirchner’s first 100 days in office, especially after upper-middle class citizens poured into the streets of
Farmers’ Plight
The farmers were enraged at Kirchner’s attacks against soy producers. "Most people blockading the highways were people who make their living with a lot of effort, hard work and sacrifice, it is unfair to tax the little guy," explains Boron. How much money has the soy tax made? In 2006 with the 35% tax, the government collected $11 billion in soy taxes.
On the farmers’ side, small and mid-sized agro producers organized the blockades in what they said was a reaction to a tax that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The tax hike is hammering small farmers, who have had increased costs in fertilizers and fuel. In an unusual pact, the large land owners allied with small farmers during the farmers’ strike. These two sectors have historically despised each other.
Along the nation’s highways, soy farmers stopped trucks transporting food goods from arriving to market. However, large land owners which own more than 500 hectares of land were not the leading protagonists in the barricades. Small farmers who control only 20% of
Hector Bitonte is one of those farmers who blocked a major highway leading from the nation’s grain harvesting cradle to
Soy, Rising Inflation and Food Prices
Economists worry that mono-crop production like soy for plant-based fuels and feed will cause food prices to soar in
Cristina Kirchner thought it would be easy to target large soy producers who historically have been characterized as detested oligarchs. Unlike other parts of
Could the farmers’ conflict be a warning sign that
In
Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and filmmaker based in Buenos Aires. She can be reached at mtrigona@msn.com. All photos by Trigona.
