Ocupar, Resistir, Producir!

Exhausted is the first word that comes to mind when describing my current state. Last night was a late night, and 24 hours later I am feeling its repercussions. Granted, I also made it through the entire day with no coffee! I think I’ll cede to my caffeine cravings tomorrow…

I promised to leave less time between blogs, so here’s another update. Right now, my seminar class is looking at the economic history of Argentina – pretty interesting, considering the country has tried (and failed at) almost every economic model imaginable. After the state-induced growth of the mid-30s through early 70s, the military dictatorship began to implement more market-friendly policies. With the nineties came mega privatizations and parity between the Argentine peso and US dollar. The parity, or convertability, of the currencies was intended to put an end to rampant hyperinflation, and in that it succeeded. Nonetheless, convertability is sustainable only in the short-term – as in 2 years max. Argentina maintained the parity for ten. It was a recipe for disaster.

In 2001, convertability had become a stranglehold on the Argentine economy. Why invest in or buy from a country with an extraordinarily overvalued currency? I’ll skip to the important part: when convertability came to an end and Argentina returned to a floating currency, the peso-dollar exchange rate jumped to 3:1 overnight. Savings were slashed to a third of what they had been during the convertability period, and Argentina’s middle class was up in arms. December 2001 saw five presidents in a period of 20 days, and no one knew what would come next.

Anyhow, against this backdrop was the worker’s movement. With all of the privatizations and arrivals of multinational corporations, many Argentines were left without work or without pay. Owners of factories, declaring bankruptcy, attempted to liquidate all assets and pocket the money despite the fact that they hadn’t paid their workers (or their taxes) for months (years?) – all of this right under the government’s nose! This is where it gets interesting: Refusing to let the owners get away with this, the workers banded together and occupied the factories. “Ocupar, resistir, producir” (occupy, resist, produce!) was their motto, and the right to work was their cause. In time, many of the factories worked with the state to have the factories expropriated and handed over to the workers themselves – hence the name fábricas recuperadas (recovered factories).

Yesterday (Tuesday) we visited a metallurgic factory (ex-La Baskonia) in the Buenos Aires Province and learned about how some 90 workers “took” the factory in 2003 and made an allegedly unprofitable enterprise profitable again. Today, we visited another factory, this time of the textile industry, and learned about how the workers at Brukman “took” the factory at the height of the crisis in 2001. Both factories now operate as cooperatives – it’s like communism from the bottom-up, not top-down like it’s always been implemented throughout history. Everyone earns the same pay, and there are no “bosses” or “owners.” Former blue-collar workers now assume all administrative and budgetary tasks, handle negotiations with other companies, etc. It’s really cool, but my early summer reading tells me this really isn’t super sustainable… (thanks, Ayn Rand).

The cooperative system seems to be working rather well right now, based on what I’ve read in class, as well as seen and heard in the actual factories. I just don’t see it as contributing much technologically, plus I cannot begin to imagine the liability issues (with regard to edifices, safety conditions, etc.) in an ownerless enterprise! Still, there is definitely something to be said about the right to meaningful work and what that can mean for an individual and his/her family. In both the recovered textile factory and the recovered metallurgy factory, machines were very labor-intensive – definitely not what you’d see in the super-modern and uber-efficient factories that have given a significant impetus to the neoliberal model. Oh, the trade-offs!

I don’t really know why I’m writing this entry. I’m not sure if people are actually interested in Argentina’s recovered factory movement, but I find it very interesting, especially coming from a state that’s been hit extremely hard by the closing of factories due to increasing mechanization of labor. “Ocupar, resistir, producir!” in the States? I don’t think that would go over too well. If they’re still debating private property vs. right to work in Argentina, I can only begin to imagine the hostility of a similar debate in the USA right now…

I am, in fact, alive!

It’s been far too long since I’ve updated this blog, and my sincerest apologies for this. There’s just so much fun to be had in Buenos Aires that it’s easy to push blogging to the back-burner. Selfish, yes… I’ll try to be better about sharing with everyone what amazing opportunities I get to take advantage of in South America!

Since my last post, we’ve done so much!!! I’ve developed a fascination with the oh-so-controversial Eva Perón, around whom I could focus an entire blog entry about political philosophy, resource distribution, and women’s rights (just to name a few). We visited the Eva Perón Museum last week, and I left thoroughly satisfied with what I saw and heard. If anyone feels inspired, you should really check out Eva’s speeches from the late 40s!! Such an interesting way of speaking to the  masses. Okay, I’m getting sidetracked and time is short. Onto the next thing…

For those of you who don’t know much about Argentine history, there was a terrible dictatorship that controlled the country from 1976 until 1983. During that time, over 30,000 individuals (intellectuals, leftists, and anyone suspected of having communist ties) were “disappeared” – i.e. tortured, killed, raped. Many bodies were dropped from helicopters into the ocean, hence the term “disappeared” (desaparecidos) used to describe victims of the regime. At the height of the repression, the madres (mothers) of the desaparecidos began protesting in the Plaza de Mayo, located at the heart of the city. The Madres of the Plaza de Mayo are acclaimed internationally for their courageous efforts to bring an end to the military regime and establish a more just state. The madres still march today to share their message at home and abroad. However, since Argentina made the difficult transition to democracy, the madres have split into several groups, with some madres taking on the political ideologies of their lost children and others preferring a more politically neutral dialogue.

Last week, my group visited the Asociación de las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (one of the more radical lines) and talked with the vice-president of the organization. Very interesting, and I managed to rile her up a bit by asking about what her organization “wants” from the United States. Because of the United States’ role in supporting the dictatorships in Latin America during the Cold War (before the Carter administration), there’s still a lot of bad blood towards the United States here… Her response? Nada. No military bases in Colombia, no intervention in Honduras, etc. I didn’t press her much farther, but it was interesting to gauge her reaction.

Nightlife continues to be fantastic. I’m learning how to nap – I don’t have much of a choice considering that Argentines like to GO out at 3 and come home at 7 in the morning, at least. Not a problem for me, considering my nocturnal tendencies. Lots of dancing in the boliches, or clubs, and quite a few offer shows on certain weeknights. My friends and I went to a transvestite and break-dancing show last Thursday – it’s apparently a must-see for the tourists? I will not go back. Aside from that little stint, I’m really enjoying the the festivities!

On Saturday, I went with my madre and her friend to Tigre, a small river town about an hour outside of the city proper. Beautiful. The pictures say it all, and considering I am running out of time before Spanish class, I am going to upload photos and call it quits. I promise more posts and more details soon!