ESRC Society Today

This research generated data and analysis of the activities of the Unemployed Workers Organisations (UWOs) in Argentina. The aim has been to understand how these organisations contribute to the well-being of the unemployed and vulnerable in society, and what part they play in social change. 

The study focused on the interconnection between three areas of collective action:

1. organisation, 
2. community ventures,
3. influence on institutions and policy.

The key findings from the three case studies show that the UWOs:

1. are flexible organisations deploying a wide range of traditional and innovative collective actions (eg acting as citizens advice bureaus, trade unions and lobbying groups);
2. challenge the patchy and deficient official policies through creative forms of resource reallocation from employment programmes to community ventures;
3. articulate different collective needs and demands related to housing, education, employment and environmental issues through collective projects.

Since the UWOs are only part of a wide range of social movements in Latin America, comparative research was undertaken to explore the social, political and economic impact of autonomous practices of prominent social movements in Bolivia, Brazil and Mexico. The findings indicate that, like the Argentine UWOs, there is ample organisational innovation, and that autonomous practices are both beneficial for community development and politically challenging for mainstream politics and policies.

Award/Grant Outputs and Documents
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