Beaten but Standing. Union Resurgence and Segmented Neocorporatism in Argentina (2003-2007)

Abstract

The shift from state-led ISI to more market-oriented economic models often has the result of shrinking and demobilizing the labor movement. Yet, evidence fromArgentinasuggests that a subsequent resurgence of even a down-sized labor movement may occur and furthermore that a type of «segmented neocorporatism» may be established in the new economic context. We argue that the establishment of this new form of interest intermediation is driven by economic and political factors that are both immediate and longer-term. In addition to the short-term condition of the labor market and the political strategy of the government in power, of longer-term importance are structural and institutional conditions that derive from the earlier process of market reform, specifically the nature of sectorwide shifts in the economy and the degree of labor law deregulation affecting the «associational power» of unions.