Enterprises recovered by their workers in Argentina: an assessment of articulations of reciprocity with society

Abstract

In Argentina, the recovery of enterprises is the conceptualization used to make reference to a heterogeneous set of processes in which workers of enterprises in crisis, organized in cooperatives, take control of production. Since 2001, recovered enterprises emerged as a response from workers to processes of wage infringement in a context of deep social, economic and political crisis. This became a paradigmatic case of the social economy. These enterprises’ recovery processes introduced numerous innovations in the productive units. One of these innovations refers to the relationships not mediated by the market that recovered enterprises establish with society. The development of these non-mercantile articulations has been a highly valued feature of recovered enterprises, generally assumed to have a motivation related to solidarity and reciprocity. However, how do workers justify and value them? To what extent do they perceive these articulations as actions of solidarity? In the case that solidarity is an underlying motivation, is it the only one? On the basis of two surveys conducted in Buenos Aires City, this article analyses the assessments and perceptions of workers from recovered enterprises regarding non-mercantile articulations, so as to elucidate the underlying logics and motivations. Three rationales supporting the development of these articulations are identified: social alliance, utility and good relationships. The study shows there are links between the ideas about non-mercantile articulations, specific attributes of recovered enterprises and the criteria of efficiency prioritized by workers, which accounts for the building of other logics over strictly economic and mercantile rationality.