Collective action, self-management, and the social economy. The recovered companies of Argentina

Abstract

Since Argentina's socio-economic crisis (2001-2002), the phenomenon of workers taking over, or recovering, bankrupt companies has spread across the country. In this article, we present findings related to strategies of collective action that favor self-management. To do so, first we develop a typology of the incentives to recover companies through collective action. Next we describe how the social movement's organization has evolved. Third, we discuss the initial strategies of economic articulation between these companies. Our hypothesis is that, so long as the social movement is politically and socially week, the predominant strategies will be market insertion by companies on an individual basis. By contrast, a greater degree of mobilization would create more favorable conditions for strategies of productive integration and of strengthening the social economy.