Union Politics, Market‐Oriented Reforms, and the Reshaping of Argentine Corporatism

Abstract

Market‐oriented reforms and the withdrawal of the Argentine state from important economic reforms under the government of President Carlos Menem posed major challenges for the Argentine union movement, traditionally allied to the Peronist party of Menem. The author identifies three distinct strategies pursued by segments of the union movement in response to market reforms—‘opposition’, ‘loyalty’, and ‘organizational autonomy’. The latter constituted the strongest departure from union traditions in Argentina, and entailed the development of new organizational resources adapted to the new environment of economic competition. Unions pursuing organizational autonomy moved from corporatist dependence on state regulation towards ownership and administration of productive and consumption activities. The author argues that organizational autonomy as a strategic response to market reform was shaped by the re‐distribution of union power resources (industrial, political, and organizational) as well as by organizational legacies.