Direct Democracy
Grassroots Democracy
Argentina Autonomista Project
The Argentinean Movimiento de Trabajadores Desocupados (Unemployed Workers Movement) has become a permanent thorn in the government’s side since their emergence in 1997. The came into existence because of the shear frustration they have towards political corruption, and the failure of unions and political parties to represent them. The term “piquetero” (picketers) is in reference to their mode of action, which is to produce blockades across major highways in order to stop the flow of commodities. Since the piqueteros are made up of unemployed workers, striking is no longer an option, yet by blocking the roads they can still have an immense disruptive effect on the economic system. The halting of commodities disrupts economic activity. “We see that the way to capitalism operates is through the circulation of goods. Obstructing the highways is the way to hurt the capitalist the most.” (1)
To think that the piqueteros came into existence in the wake of the December economic crash in Argentina is a misconception. The Moviemento de Trabajadores Desocupados (MTD) appeared as part of Argentinean society back in 1997, following the presidency of Carlos Menem. Argentina back in the day of prosperity and richness had a large middle and working class. For decades the industrial working class was the group that maintained Peron’s populist mentality. Traditionally, they were organized into large unions and despite their lack of independence and their subordination to Peron’s Justicialist Party, the workers were relatively well- paid and well- organized compared to the rest of Latin America.
However, economic policy changes do to the governments involvement with the
IMF, and the demands placed upon the Argentinean government by the international
financial institutions led to enormous layoffs leaving what once was a well-
paid and organized sector in shambles. “As Argentines lost jobs in factories
and the public sector, they were limited to low- wage, un- organized and unstable
work wherever they could get it. Meanwhile, decades of bureaucratic corruption
gradually turned what remained of Argentina’s unions into little more
than a mafia.” (2) Subsequently, the series of political events that has
created such socio- economic turmoil has provided the arena for workers movements,
such as the Unemployed Workers Movement, to emerge.
The blockades that have made the MTD famous have been exceptionally successful
for them. Over the years of picketing, the movement has managed to secure thousands
of temporary minimum wage jobs, food allowances, and other concessions from
the state. In August of 2001, a nation- wide mobilization of piqueteros shut-
down over 300 highways across Argentina. Over 100 000 unemployed workers participated
and the economy was successfully paralysed. (3)
The piqueteros consider themselves to be an autonomous group. “We understand
by autonomy the ability which, as a people, we have to organize ourselves and
“direct” ourselves by our own selves. Our movements are independent
of the State and its institutions, political parties, and the church, but autonomy
goes beyond that independence: we reject the subordination of popular organizations
to any superstrucutral petition, since we believe that the people organizing
themselves from the grass roots within their own areas should be those that
determine, in a democratic way, the decisions and the politics that follow.”
(4)
They, in conjunction with neighborhood assemblies, believe strongly in the power
of horizontal democracy, they too reject the hierarchal organization. The demands
that are made upon the state are evenly distributed among those participating
in the movement. One of their central demands is that of job creation, and once
this demand is secured the piqueteros collectively decide who gets the job.
The decision is based on need and time spent helping the blockades. If there
are not enough positions, the piqueteros rotate the jobs and share the wages.
The extraordinary phenomenon that has extended from this kind of movement is
that the radical actions of some the most impoverished and marginalized people
of Argentinean have not alienated other sectors of society. Actually the complete
opposite is true, extensive support has been seen, especially from the middle
class because of the understanding now extended between the two groups. The
middle class has now experienced what it is to be unemployed and poor, and can
now sympathize with the plight of the workers.
“Popular power is built from the grassroots, with democracy and conscious
participation, with relationships that foresee the society that we long for.
It cannot be built from top to bottom or by force, because that is subordination,
not liberation. The revolutionary change, which transforms from the root the
unjust structures of society, will be one more step in the construction of popular
power. It won’t be ‘the only moment’ but it will be an important
step, since we can only guarantee those deep social transformations and consolidate
the values that we build day by day, when we are a conscious and organized people,
to dispute the necessary power, avoiding that the privileged minorities continue
imposing their oppressive conditions on us.” (5)
(1) Que se Vayan Todos: The Power of the Piquetero Available from: http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/imf/argentina/txt/2002/0918que_se_vayan06.htm
(2) Jim Straub. (2004) Argentina’s Piqueteros and Us [Internet] Available from: http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=5077§ionID=40
(3) Que se Vayan Todos: The Power of the Piquetero Available from: http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/imf/argentina/txt/2002/0918que_se_vayan06.htm
(4) Argentina: The ‘piqueteros’of the Unemployed Workers Movement
(2003) [Internet] Available from: http://www.solidaridadesrebeldes.kolgados.com.ar/article.php3?id_article=24
(5) Argentina: The ‘piqueteros’of the Unemployed Workers Movement (2003) [Internet] Available from: http://www.solidaridadesrebeldes.kolgados.com.ar/article.php3?id_article=24