ILO paths across Latin America regarding self-management during the long 1960s

Abstract

This essay begins by acknowledging the significance of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the dissemination of the Yugoslav model of self-management within Western agendas throughout the “Long Sixties”. In the following pages, we will provide a brief overview of the ILO’s interest in this model, considering the perspective of self-management presented through various studies and publications conducted during the period, as well as in the international meetings it organized or promoted. Recognizing that the interpretation of these materials varied based on diverse perspectives, we are interested in observing its reception within two distinct Latin American labour organizations that advocated for self-management as a form of economic organization, either in a general sense or specifically at the company level. Firstly, we will refer to the Central Latinoamericana de Trabajadores - Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) -, a regional affiliate of the World Confederation of Labor (WCL). Secondly, we will explore the Sindicato Luz y Fuerza Capital Federal (SLyF-CF), the union representing the electricity industry in Argentina. These organizations were chosen for their common foundation in social Christian doctrine, as this conception played a significant role in many workers’ participation experiments during the sixties and seventies1 . Despite this shared religious background, the notable ideological differences between them will enable us to examine how the ILO’s concept of self-management was received diversely in Latin America.