Organizing Workers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico: The Authoritarian-Corporatist Legacy and Old Institutional Designs in a New Context

Abstract

In what way do the corporatist and authoritarian legacies that modelled some Latin American labor institutions influence the opportunities for and restrictions on organizing workers in a new context? To what extent did institutional designs, together with other economic and political factors, influence the characteristics that currently distinguish the union organizations in the countries of the region? Taking into consideration the existence of a broader debate about the consequences of globalization and political democratization for unions, the contribution of historical institutionalism and previous research, in this Article I compare the institutional and organizational dynamics of unions in four countries with authoritarian legacies and corporatist traditions (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico). The Article argues that in spite of these shared traditions, the differences in the institutional designs — which have scarcely been considered in the specialized literature — have historically imposed distinctive features on the associational power of workers and unions. These features not only persist to the present day, but also translate into dissimilar trajectories of the labor movement and opportunities for organizing workers in the last decade.

The determinants of strikes in the Mexican automobile industry, 1980-2012

“…This study has sought to explain the variation in strikes in the Mexican automobile industry. The findings provide support for institutional perspectives that emphasize the legacy of state‐corporatism in Mexico (e.g., Arteaga García, ; Bensusán, ). During the period in question, unions that were affiliated with the CTM consistently had fewer (or no) strikes, and fewer days lost to strikes.…”

“…Improving our understanding of strikes in Mexico contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of the Mexican labor movement and of workers in the global south more generally. Although many scholars have continued to emphasize the impact (and legacies) of corporatist union organization in Mexico (Bensusán, ), there has been no systematic, quantitative studies of the relationship between strikes and corporatism in the Mexican automobile industry . As a result, it remains unclear if the institutional constraints associated with corporatism explain strike behavior in the sector.…”

Informality over the life-cycle

“…This surprising result may mirror the presence of strong unions who represent blue collar workers. As shown by González et al (2009) and Bensusán (2016), union organizations are characterized, in Argentina, by strong corporatism. In the sectors covered by historic unions such as transport, manufacturing and construction, the unionization rate is twice as high than that of more modern sectors such as finance.…”

Recursos de poder sindicales y relaciones de clase. Elementos para una mirada de largo plazo de Argentina y México

“…Esto se debería a la inserción de los cambios en procesos de largo plazo, y las realidades de sus formaciones económicas y políticas en las que aquellos se insertan. Hay en las investigaciones especializadas recientes cierto consenso respecto a que los impactos del neoliberalismo han sido más desmovilizadores en el movimiento obrero mexicano (Bensusán, 2016;Cook, 2007;Bensusán y Cook 2015;.…”