Coffee at La Cacerola (Photo: Matthew French)

Buenos Aires, always a strong tourism pull, has become more popular as a foodie destination in recent years as well thanks to the sophistication of the legendary Argentine asados and hot new fusion restaurants littering the culinary scene. But even some of the most dedicated food lovers who come to tour the city with their taste buds are likely to miss out on one of the most intriguing aspects of the Buenos Aires food culture.

Cooperative restaurants, tucked away throughout the city, occupy a fascinating place in the social history of Argentina. Established by groups of colleagues that found themselves jobless when the economic crisis hit Argentina in 2001, these cooperative projects are the result of intense labour and dedication to a common goal of survival. Often beginning with nothing more than a destroyed building and whatever personal funds they could salvage, these people came together from diverse backgrounds to pool their efforts in creating a business that, through income equality, would sustain them all. The result: unique restaurants with an effective form of self-management among the workers and a truly familial atmosphere.

La Cacerola is one of these cooperative restaurants, located on Franklin 26 in the neighbourhood of Almagro. It was founded in 2002 after several neighbours in the area found themselves unemployed and decided start a business of their own that would coexist with the surrounding community. Since then, the workers in La Cacerola have been moving forward together, reclaiming a run-down neighbourhood lot and turning it into a beautiful café in which, despite different responsibilities, all of them receive the same pay. The workers have developed a unique café culture in which they promote the community they cultivate more than the food and drink they put on the table.

This grassroots attitude is apparent in the diverse backgrounds of La Cacerola’s employees. While many are family members and friends of the original founders of the cooperative, the only prerequisite for the job is commitment to the project and the network of people it supports. For this reason, the heads of administration within La Cacerola have hired former convicts, homeless people and drug-addicts, people typically not considered reliable or appealing by employers.

However, as the president of the cooperative, Walter, says, the foundational ideals of La Cacerola are “solidarity and trust”. This allows traditional weaknesses to become strengths, because those former at-risk individuals become the most reliable and loyal workers available. Walter elaborates: one of the top three administrators within the La Cacerola heads up the high management duties despite his history as a juvenile delinquent; an ex-convict tends the cash register unsupervised; and a worker with HIV/AIDS shares mate with her colleagues.

Bar Mu (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Bar Mu is another type of cooperative establishment, located a few blocks from Congreso on Hipólito Yrigoyen 1440. While officially it can be classified as a restaurant, in truth it is a mix of a library, bar, meeting place and artisanal shop. Most clients are regulars who have grown close with the staff. Bar Mu began in the virtual world as an online journal, founded after the 2001 crisis to promote the cooperative movement in Argentina and create awareness of human rights issues. Its creators then decided to found the Bar Mu space to amplify the cooperative’s reach and establish a permanent, physical place for themselves.

Like La Cacerola, Bar Mu has a unique management system. As a cooperative, all workers receive equal pay and respect, despite varying roles of responsibility. Interestingly, the majority of high-responsibility positions tend to be filled by women. The president of the cooperative, Claudia, mentions that this relates to the belief that women manage domestic economies more effectively than men, though men are more dominant in Argentine business due to a historically machista society. She says that in Bar Mu, women are far more effective in cultivating a familial atmosphere, because they translate the rules of the home into the workplace. These “powers of the woman,” as Claudia calls them, forge Bar Mu’s unique environment. As such, the space feels like the extension of someone’s home, with a cosy and motherly feel. It has the same free speech and comfort that exists within a tightly knit family household.

As my conversation with Claudia ends, a Senegalese immigrant walks through the door and comes up to her, planting a big kiss on her cheek. They chat for a bit, she offers him some mate and he heads back out into the cold. Claudia then tells me that the man is a street vendor. She’s known him for years after he stumbled into Bar Mu offering his wares. Since then he’s been coming around weekly, and she’s even taught him to drink mate. Claudia then frowns and says, “His brother was murdered last week.” She pauses. “It’s been tough for all of us.”

La Cacerola and Bar Mu represent just two examples of this powerful cooperative movement, which in Argentina is not limited to restaurant and cafés but can be seen throughout society, from cooperative living spaces in squatted buildings to worker-run recuperated factories. Often hidden from the eyes of tourists who stick to the main sights, such cooperative establishments offer a glimpse at a profoundly Argentine trait: creative adaptation to overcome hardship and the coming together of community in the face of adversity.

Matthew French is currently working for Buenos Aires Delivery (www.badelivery.com), where he often writes about food and restaurant culture for their blog. He also works with Open Movements, an organisation dedicated to developing social economy and fighting economic exploitation.

Hotel Bauen on Callao by Corrientes (Photo: Sam Verhaert)

This month, one of the most iconic businesses in Buenos Aires returned to the media spotlight. Hotel Bauen – a 20-storey high-rise in the centre of the city – was the scene of street protests that brought traffic to a standstill. Why? The hotel is one of the hundreds of companies that were bankrupted in the aftermath of the 2001 crisis, abandoned by their owners but then brought back to life by the people who had worked there.

Nine years since the workers recovered the hotel, the building is at the centre of a courtroom tug-of-war over its rightful ownership. On April 19^th another court date took place and supporters filled the streets around the hotel in a showing of solidarity. The battle for Bauen is heating up once again. It is plucky workers against big business -and the outcome is far from assured.

An Intricate Story

The history of the hotel is as mythical as it is murky. It was built during the military dictatorship’s beautifying of Buenos Aires in the run-up to the 1978 World Cup. Located in the centre of town – Callao and Corrientes – it was a shiny jewel in the city’s crown; one of only two five-star hotels in the capital.

Hotel Bauen's dance floor at the ready (Photo: Sam Verhaert)

It opened its doors in May 1978, with 250 rooms, boasting conference rooms, a swimming pool, a theatre and a disco. Bauen S.A., run by Marcelo Iurcovich owned the hotel. He had strong ties to the government in the 1970s and built the hotel with loans from the National Development Bank (BANADE).

The hotel enjoyed several years of prosperity and then in the 1990s it embarked on a trajectory typical of the dying moments of the 20^th century in Argentina. In 1997 Iurcovich sold the hotel to the Chilean company Solari S.A. who managed the business during the crash. On the 28^th of December 2001 the hotel closed and the employees joined the ranks of millions of Argentines out of work.

On the 21^st of March 2003, a small group of former employees, supported by the National Movement of Recuperated Businesses (MNER), broke into the building and started the remarkable journey to bring the hotel back into working order. Nine years on, the 160 workers run Bauen as a cooperative and are in a constant fight with the courts.

Old Buildings with Old Furniture

Since 2003, the workers have run the hotel on a shoestring. “Because we aren’t legal owners, we can’t go to the bank and ask for a loan, because they won’t give it to us.” Marcelo Ruarte, the hotel’s press officer, is one of the most recognisable figures in the Bauen Cooperative. He has been working at the hotel for over 30 years. “We don’t think about trying to compete with the Sheraton and the Hyatt, we have a lot of disadvantages  – the recuperated businesses are old buildings with old furniture.”

Hotel Bauen room with twin beds (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

For a conventional customer, this issue is difficult to ignore. A quick glance at the hotel’s online reviews reveals a less-than glowing report. “Dirty, old, dark, cockroaches in the bedroom… I recommend that you don’t waste your time or money in this hotel,” one user of the holiday review website Tripadvisor.com writes. “The hotel lobby resembles a train station, the lifts don’t work; the AC is broken; the furniture is in tatters, it’s loud and the windows that look onto the street don’t have double glazing,” writes another.

The list of the problems goes on, but the staff is well aware of the hotel’s shortcomings. Because they don’t have any legal rights in the building it is impossible to get investment, and without investment, the process of rebuilding the hotel – which was gutted by Solari S.A. in its bankruptcy – is painfully slow. “In the United States, companies have millions of dollars of subsidies, here we don’t have anything,” Arminda Palacios, the oldest worker in the cooperative, explains. “Everything that has been done here, has been done off the backs of our own work – it is an enormous sacrifice.”

The cooperative can only invest a percentage of the income that the business brings in; it has no capital. “At times they [the workers] were reinvesting up to 90% of the income back in the hotel and only taking home 10%” Fabian Pierucci, Bauen’s resident economist, explains. Progress is incremental and there are no guarantees that the workers investment – $6m over 9 years – will ever be repaid or recognised. “A lot of people are proud of us and what we’ve achieved but it’s us who have to keep working just to be able to survive, but this is bankrupting us,” cooperative member Maria Lavalle says.

Legality versus Legitimacy

On the 20^th June 2007, the cooperative received an official eviction notice but the workers are defiant that they will not give up the hotel. “How are we going to give the hotel back to the businessman who shut it down in the first place?” Ruarte asks. “This isn’t ours legally. Legitimately it is ours but those are two different things.”

Hotel Bauen cooperative employees protest in 2006 in front of Buenos Aires City Hall. (Photo: Olmo Calvo Rodriguez)

The court battle over ownership of the building is Dickensian in its complexity and shows no signs of being resolved soon. The Bauen group – headed by Marcelo Iurcovich – constructed the hotel with the aid of several million dollars of state loans from the now defunct BANADE. These loans have never been paid back in full to the state. Solari S.A. then bought the hotel in 1997 with a down payment of 10% and, according to Fabian Pierucci, the company did not pay much more before it went bankrupt. Iurcovich took ownership of the hotel once again and then in 2004 sold it to Mercoteles, the company currently claiming ownership.

This diluted notion of ownership is at the core of the court proceedings. The people at the cooperative believe that so many people have “bought” the building without paying for it that the state – who made the initial loan for its construction in the 1970s – should expropriate it. There has been a trial running for over 30 years between Iurcovich and BANADE over the repayment of the loan but it is still to be concluded.

The Bauen Cooperative is also crying foul play, claiming Iurcovich’s enterprises have not kept everything above board. “After lots of investigation, it is a possibility that they bankrupted it so they could come back with a company with a different name and wash away a lot of debt,” Pierucci claims, “Common practice in Argentine capitalism.” He also doubts the legitimacy of Mercoteles: “This company Mercoteles is made up of Iurcovich family members and commercial associates. This business never existed [before buying the hotel]. Kaliman [the recently deceased former director] was clearly the director of a ghost company, he was the straw man for the Iurcovich family.” Hugo Iurcovich, Marcelo’s son, currently runs the company.

Mercoteles were approached to comment for this piece but, despite initially showing interest, were not available for an interview. Mercoteles maintain that they are the legal owners of the hotel and on various occasions they have filed eviction orders against the cooperative. At the recent court hearing on the 19^th April, the Iurcovich family lawyer said they would keep all the current staff on if they got back control of the hotel.

Cooperative: A Model for the Future

Both Ruarte and Pierucci admit that the cooperative’s main role was to provide people with employment when the fabric of Argentine society was unravelling. “The cooperative was founded on the ruins of 2001, it was fulfilling a social role which, in that particular moment, even the state couldn’t do.” Pierucci explains. “Every job has a social value that is incalculable.”

Workers and clients enter the Hotel Bauen lobby (Photo: Sam Verhaert)

A huge proportion of their business comes from people who are sympathetic to their cause: members of other collectives, leftwing political groups and “responsible tourists”. Around 40% of the hotel’s custom comes directly from the state; ministries often arrange conferences and rent out their rooms. It is a precarious situation: without the government’s – ideological if not judicial – support, the hotel would surely struggle to survive. “In one way or another, this turns us into captives, captives of the state.” Ruarte said.

Even if the Bauen Cooperative does get what it wants – for the state to take control of the hotel and lease it back to them – there are still question marks about how successful the hotel would be. “We are workers who have recuperated this business, but what calls the shots outside is the capitalist market.” Ruarte comments. Can a hotel run as a cooperative thrive in a capitalist market?

The main criticism of cooperatives is that they are inefficient and they lack the resources to grow their business. All decisions have to be made collectively -a worker remembered the time that she was involved in a 20-hour-long meeting when she worked in a factory run as a collective. Many say that they lack the decisiveness to compete in an unforgiving market.

But as the fallout of the global economic crisis deepens, the cooperative model is becoming increasingly attractive to workers around the world. “Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.” Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, announced this year, bringing in the UN’s International Year of Cooperatives at the beginning of 2012. These days, 99% of Sweden’s dairy production, 95% of Japan’s rice harvest and 60% of Italy’s wine production are all run cooperatively. The Mondragon Corporation, the most successful business group in the Basque Country and one of the most successful in Spain, is also run cooperatively.

The cooperative model is a viable one, but the challenges Bauen faces are by no means negligible. Unless the workers get legal recognition, the logistics of running a cooperative business are low on their list of priorities. The threat of eviction still hangs heavy.

More court hearings are due to take place over the next few months and a favourable outcome for the workers is far from assured. But they are determined and, in a year of high profile national expropriations, Fabian Pierucci is hopeful. “We’re hoping that this time, legitimacy wins.”

What do people think about the Bauen workers’ right to ask for an expropriation and the viability of their business model? Click here to find out.

From its inception, Hotel Bauen, located in the city centre, has been surrounded by controversy. Built in 1978 with loans from the military government, the Bauen was originally designed to host tourists arriving in Argentina for the World Cup that year.

After a period of decadence, its former owner, Mercelo Iurcovich, filed for bankruptcy in February 2000, having accumulated a debt of US$8 million. In 2003, the abandoned site was retaken by its previous employees, with the backing of the National Movement of Recovered Businesses (MNER).

According to the cooperative model, each worker earns an equal wage and has equal say in the management of the hotel. Over the past eight years, the cooperative has gained recognition as a hub of political and cultural activity.

Recently, a new round of negotiations has been triggered by ownership claims issued by Iurcovich’s firm Mercoteles. In November, an eviction order was issued. Although the process did not come into effect, Iurcovich’s threat still lingers. The hotel’s 160 workers have taken the case to court, asking for the state to expropriate the building and lease it to them. A host of deputies, human rights organisations and fellow corporative workers have rallied in their defence.

Do you think the workers have the right to ask for an expropriation? And are cooperatives viable initiatives in a capitalist economy? The Argentina Independent hit the streets to find out.

Photos by Natasha Ali

Alberto, 59, Accountant, Recoleta

To me, its a disastrous situation, the workers being in control, because they always cause problems. In my opinion, union workers are criminals. If there’s one that is not a criminal, it is an exception to the rule. The problem is that cooperatives are managed by union workers and union workers are bad at managing businesses…they are to blame for everything that is wrong with this country. All unionists are millionaires – it is a disgrace. It has always been the same. Cooperatives do not work because everyone should earn according to how hard they work. If someone is not putting in his share, he should not earn the same as someone who is working hard. The problem is that quid pro quo reigns in this country.

Cinthia Olivera, 24, Student, Province of Buenos Aires

As far as I know the owner filed for bankruptcy which made the ex employers redundant. The owner did not only lose the building and his business, but also his shares. As far as I can see, there has to be joint responsibility of the hotel. To be honest, I do not know exactly what is going on in the current court case but I have been to the Bauen recently to listen to some bands to raise money for the restoration of the building. I am aware of the cultural scene the hotel has to offer but I do not know much about the internal politics. It seems to me that the cooperatives are a good idea. The Bauen has a central place in Argentine history – my parents went there when they were young. The Bauen is not the only example of the cooperatives here – there are a lot of factories that are based on the same model. I support the cooperatives but I do not agree that everyone should earn the same salary: everyone has to earn according to the work they put it.

Estella Banelo, 48, Kiosk manager, Southern Buenos Aires

Yes, I think that cooperatives can function well… Of course, I support the workers! The workers should have the right to continue managing the building since the owner abandoned the place. It seems to me that they have to reach an agreement with the owner to make sure he does not usurp the building and these people do not lose their jobs. Cooperatives seem like a fantastic concept to me and they have been very successful in the past. Businesses work much more effectively without a hierarchical structure…its a great way to maintain sources of work. There have been many such models in the textile industry as well.

Elizabeth Rojas, 46, Public Services, Quilmes

I do not know a great deal about the subject but I know that the owners left in 2001 and the workers took charge of the hotel. I think the initiative worked. There are many more examples like it – in other factories in the city. Historically, cooperatives have worked very well in this country but they are not as strong as they once were. Such initiatives function at a political level too. Given that we are living in a different democratic period, cooperatives have to adapt. I do not agree that all the workers should earn the same salary as having a guaranteed wage does provide an incentive to work and everyone needs to pay taxes to contribute to society.

Demetre Salán, 58, Newspaper seller, Pompeya

The cooperative does not function at all! The owner shut up shop in 2001 and since then the hotel has totally deteriorated. We live in a capitalist society and everyone has to earn their keep. Who is going to finance the hotel if the workers expropriate it? The money has to come from somewhere. The owner is clearly going to win the lawsuit. Give me an example of where cooperatives work… Look there are two systems: socialism and capitalism. Capitalism has triumphed on a global scale. The workers have been there for ten years and look, the hotel is still in the same condition it was ten years ago. After 2001, many people abandoned their businesses and cooperatives replaced them… there have been some examples where cooperatives have worked in Latin America. But, now in this system, they are not viable.

Robin Minchom spends a day with Rosa and Chavez, two of thousands of urban recyclyers – known locally as cartoneros - operating in Buenos Aires. Working from 3-11pm, six days a week, the couple search for recyclable material on the streets of the capital, forming an integral part of waste management in the city.

Camera and Editing: Alejandra Leon

Whether you’re a local, a fully-fledged expat, or someone living in Buenos Aires for a few weeks or months, it can sometimes be difficult to find ways to give back to the community. By giving back, we don’t just mean volunteering, but ways of helping with the community or the environment in big or small doses.

Sometimes it’s a language barrier, or occasionally just a cultural one, but many people find the idea of helping out pushed to the back of their minds. We at The Indy recognise the importance of being socially and environmentally conscious, so this week’s Top 5 aims to help you on your way to giving yourself a pat on the back.

Give Blood

Giving blood at the children's hospital is easy and well-marked (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

Whilst giving blood might seem like an obvious way to give back to any community, it’s a simple gesture that slips from your mind when you’re in a foreign place where facilities might not be as accessible as you’re used to.This is especially the case in Argentina, where donating blood is not a cultural norm. Here, blood diffusions commonly come from family members or friends of the recipient and, unfortunately, this isn’t always practical and doesn’t provide nearly as much blood as the country needs.

Non-profit group Dale Vida recognised a lack of government commitment to promoting what they considered a necessary medical need. Thinking outside the box, they set up an independent campaign which extends its appeal to visitors to the city too. Located at the Dr. Ricardo Guitérrez Children’s Hospital, Dale- Vida provides a service that enables donors to give blood easily with the support of English speaking staff.

You have to undergo an evaluation to ensure donation will be suitable for you, but, all in all, it should only take a morning. As long as you’re aged between 18 and 65, weigh over 110lbs (50kg) and have healthy, disease-free blood, you’re a fit candidate for helping others. And all the extra iron from the steak you’ve been eating can finally be put to good use.

Dale Vida can be found at Hospital de Niños Dr. Ricardo Gutiérrez on Mondays-Fridays. Identification is required to give blood. For more information please visit their website or Facebook.

Shop Eco-Friendly

Mercado Bondpland, at Bonpland 1660, offers local, fair trade, and organic products (Photo: Trillia Fidei-Bagwell)

Argentine shops love plastic bags. They love them. If you’re tired of protesting that you really don’t need those two plastic bags to carry home your very heavy load of four yogurts and some carrots, an easy way to avoid the plastic and become eco-friendly is to shop with a reusable canvas bag. Most supermarkets sell them and it’s a small step towards reducing the 40% of landfill waste which currently comes from plastics in Buenos Aires.

Shopping eco-friendly can also mean shopping in specific places. Many clothes shops, such as Cúbreme, pride themselves on being organic, fair trade or supporting local Argentine textile industries. Buying your organic groceries at cooperative markets such as Iriarte Verde in Barracas or Sabe la Tierra in its quirky setting of San Fernando train station, can also go a long way. For more information on cooperative markets and eco-friendly shopping visit our Top 5 Farmers Markets.

Shop Ethically

“Economía solidaria” or “economic solidarity” is making an impact in Buenos Aires, with many organisations taking innovative and socially conscious approaches to consumerism. Organisations such as Mundo Alameda, support cooperatives born from social movements, student unions and self-managed workers promoting fair trade and worker equality.

Another name worth knowing is Red Tacuru, a ‘buy online’ service bringing together many cooperatives selling food, films, beauty products, clothes and mate.

In the heart of Palermo Hollywood, the stalls of Mercado Solidario Bonpland, (also featured in our Top 5 Farmers Markets) are either based around the philosophy of Economía Solidaria, or are eco-friendly and ethically sourced.

Eloisa Cartonera project (Photo: Agus Carini)

But sometimes you don’t need to look beyond the high street to find support for worthwhile causes. Cosiendo Redes is a project that trains people (mainly women from the villas) in textile production. It not only teaches them how to make clothes, but also how to find jobs, connect with future employees, and even set up their own workplace or cooperative.

Big brands such as Rapsodia, Tramando, Maria Dappiano and Maria Cher, have got behind the project, employing people once they’re trained and providing financial support to the scheme.

Alternative ethical projects can be found everywhere for socially-conscious consumers. Eloísa Cartonera publishes over 200 titles from local and famous Argentine writers, but their La Boca studio is anything but a conventional publishing house. Their books are not only made from materials purchased from local cartoneros, but the company also functions as a community cooperative.

Volunteer

The term “volunteering” can mean many different things to different people. For some it’s a full time job, working in a school, building houses, or teaching a foreign language but, for many others, it can something done alongside or in addition to their full-time job.

There are many ways to volunteer locally (Photo: Barnaby Wasson)

Red Solidaria is a volunteer organisation that connects volunteers with those in need. It offers a wide range of options making it a perfect choice for those who can’t donate all of their time.

It offers small but equally effective initiatives including, for example, donating clothing to villas, or putting together bundles for poorer families affected by the consequences of the recent volcanic ash in Patagonia.

The website hacercomunidad.org offers more information on ways to volunteer in Buenos Aires, listing events, ways to get involved and a directory of altruistic organisations in your area.

Remember that some of the larger volunteer organisations take a big cut of the money you pay to volunteer, which is especially difficult to understand when you’re staying with a poor family. Look for smaller organisations, or if you’re feeling brave enough, go along volunteer somewhere directly in person. Cutting out the middle man means you’ll know exactly how your money is being spent and see it go to better uses.

For more information, have a look at our previous articles on volunteering, our directory listing of organisations, and some recommended bigger projects in our Top 5 Volunteering Organisations.

Sort Your Rubbish

A family of cartoneros (Photo: Dan DeLuca)

The cartoneros have become a familiar aspect of life in Buenos Aires. Whether you’re sightseeing in downtown Monserrat, tangoing in San Telmo, or taking tea in Recoleta, the sight of someone sifting through rubbish delivers a reminder that Argentina is a country still dealing with immense poverty and income inequality – the dual Argentina that Borges so loved to agonise about.

Cartoneros command a surprising level of respect in Buenos Aires for the important function they perform in terms of recycling. With a distinct lack of recycling initiatives, most waste in Buenos Aires goes directly to landfills. Cartoneros pick up around 10% of recyclables, so by sorting your rubbish into different piles you’ll not only make recycling more accessible, but also provide a sense of cooperation to the cartoneros, making the task of rooting through your rubbish a less degrading job.

Photo by Beatrice Murch

Six years ago Brendan Martin, 36, was working on Wall Street in the world of global finance. Then a friend suggested he watch a new film that had just been released in the United States; Naomi Klein’s ‘The Take’. The film documents the struggles of Argentine factory workers laid off during the 2001 economic crisis to reoccupy their former workplaces and rebuild them as democratic, worker-controlled enterprises.

Brendan was so inspired by this social movement that he immediately resigned his comfortable job and took off to Argentina to set up The Working World, a non-profit foundation which gives financial support to factories and businesses under worker or co-operative control. He has been here since November 2004, and to date his organisation has authorised 200 loans to retaken businesses and co-operatives, totalling over $3m. So is Brendan a visionary for the future of Argentine industry, or simply someone who watches too many films? The Argentina Independent visited him at the office of The Working World (which doubles as Brendan’s home) to find out more.

So what does your organisation offer collective factories and businesses in Argentina?

I guess you can say that we offer credit, but specifically the type of credit that we offer closer resembles microcredit, except that we spend a lot more time with each business and make it a lot more like an investment. We earn a fixed income which means that the businesses we support share all of the profits from the venture. Because it’s socially motivated we try to go into these poor areas where there may be a newly retaken or collectively organised factory, and we’ll try to develop a project with them. We can loan the money and if the project doesn’t work for whatever reason they don’t have to pay it back. The major difference in what we are doing here is that we really do try to take the risk on ourselves, while ensuring the factories are the ones who will profit from their own success.

Photo by Paula Surraco

And were you involved in similar ventures back in the US?

I worked in finance, but they were just normal financial ventures. I worked on Wall Street, I worked for hedge funds.

So you come from a financial, capitalist background?

Well I studied economics in college, but secretly my undergraduate thesis was on co-operatives. But the better story is the conversion story.

Please tell us then, what converted you and motivated you to come here and form this type of organisation?

Well this kind of organisation has interested me for a long time. I’ve always been interested in industrial production, in modern work and especially in worker control. I like to experiment, to try things; I believe in taking whatever there is and then seeing what else could be done. So that’s the way I feel about any sort of social quest, I believe it should be done like Edison and not like Lenin! And Argentina became the best place to form an organisation like this by far. Especially after the crisis a social experiment occurred where people tried to fill the vacuum and one of these methods was the workers taking over the factories. Whereas there had always been a handful of cooperatives in the country, slowly building up and developing, suddenly you had 200 brand new worker-controlled businesses, which already had developed products; they just didn’t have any co-op background. The chance was just too incredible so I quit my job, within two months we were down here and we haven’t looked back.

Photo by Paula Surraco

On your website you mention the influence of ‘The Take’. Do you think this focused attention on the co-operative movement in Argentina?

Well it certainly was an influence for me! That’s how I heard about the situation, that’s how I learnt about it. When the movie came there were at least two people that called me up and said, “Hey there’s a movie about co-ops, aren’t you interested?” And actually at the movie theatre I met [the director] Avi Lewis and he was the one who brought me down here originally, he introduced me to all the different players in the movement. It also increased international awareness, the movie has travelled all around Europe and it definitely has been one of the best ambassadors for this movement.

Are collectives able to compete on a level playing field with conventional manufacturers?

Without a doubt, I’ve seen it far too many times. Studies show over and over again that worker run companies can operate so much better, in so many ways. When managed effectively these businesses can run rings around conventional industry. If you look at any treatise from any management guru, they’ll tell you “we’ve gotta have a motivated team, that feels like they’re part of a family.” They want workers to feel like it’s their company. Not that working in a co-op is a utopia, not everyone is happy: people get pissed off; argue with each other, just like any other democracy.
But you get people who are much more involved; if they see something not running they’ll fix it. And trying to unlock that kind of knowledge of workers on the ground, and making sure it comes back to those at the top is one of those great management holy-grails, and this is where co-ops really excel.

Photo by Paula Surraco

What do you see as the future of the co-operative movement in Argentina?

Well I would love to think it can grow and grow, and just go crazy. I think it’s a great opportunity. Since 2001 it’s reached a level, with all the new enterprises that have sprung up since then, where it can sustain itself for at least the next ten years. Before we didn’t know, especially back in 2003 when we were just beginning. There were many companies just forming and you don’t know if they’re going to peter out or fail like so many businesses do. But now I think we have a situation where nothing is going to collapse in the next two months, it can continue for at least ten years and maybe a lot longer.

For more information on The Working World and the projects it supports, visit www.theworkingworld.org