Year: 2005

While the Argentine economy may still be recovering from its 2001-2002 crisis, life at Hotel Bauen in Buenos Aires has only been heating up. After more than two years of being taken over by the […]

"Imagine you lost your job and the government closed down the banks, so you couldn’t get out your savings. What would you do?" asks the narrator of the new film, Argentina: Hope in Hard Times. […]

"Blaming the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the difficulties faced by a country in times of crisis is like blaming the doctor for the patient’s disease". This statement and others like "the IMF does not […]

I first saw the deserts of the Argentine west while crammed in the backseat of a pickup with three other people. Two of those people were friends from the United States. We had come to […]

The worker occupation lasted more than 20 hours. In the end, recognizing the legitimacy of the demands from both sides, the parties reached an agreement in the Ministry of Work. It all began at 8:30 […]

Faced with nationwide unemployment rates of 14%, and poverty levels of 33% what´s a municipality to do? The city of Rosario, Argentina’s third largest city with a population of 1.3 million, has developed some innovative […]

Zanon ceramics factory, one of the most prominent of the recuperated, worker-run factories in Argentina, was taken over by workers in 2001 and since then has been economically successful as a cooperative. However, as a […]

During the economic crisis of 2001, when politicians and banks failed, many Argentines took matters into their own hands. Poverty, homelessness and unemployment were countered with barter systems and grassroots, micro-credit lending programs. Community groups […]

"Without micro-credit, poor people would not be able to participate in globalization. The big question that everyone asks is, yes or no to globalization. For me, this isn’t the question. The real question is a […]

Since the economic collapse of the country in 2002, many Argentines have developed their own alternatives to capitalist policies and practices. From barter systems to worker-run factories and businesses, in the face of economic hardship […]