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The pollen and the bees: thousands of Argentineans have set up co-ops to save their bankrupt workplaces from closure. Joseph Huff-Hannon reports on their experience.

Article Excerpt
NEW arrivals in Rosario often find it hard to pass up a shot of espresso or a milanesa sandwich at a nondescript cafe inside the main bus terminal. Argentineans are endearingly loyal to their gastronomic habits, and here in Rosario they can afford to be loyal to their politics as well, though their taste buds might not know the difference.

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Nubecoop is the first 'fast-food' co-op in the country, run by its workers since January 2003, after they had occupied the premises illegally for over a year. The restaurant's monthly profits are now shared equally by the nine employees. 'Now we take home 1,000 pesos each. Before we earned 400,' says Walter Martinez, who has put in 12 years making coffee and drinks behind the bar.

While the members of the co-op work more hours now than they did under the old boss, you won't hear Martinez waxing nostalgic about him. 'We may have more responsibilities now, but there are fewer pressures. And working without a boss is priceless.'

Nubecoop is just one example of a growing 'franchise' in Argentina: worker-run 'recovered' businesses. A characteristic of these new co-ops is their diversity: a refrigerator factory in Tierra del Fuego, schools in Buenos Aires, an auto-parts factory in the city's suburbs, a newspaper in the city of Cordoba and the largest ceramics factory in Latin America--Zanon in Patagonia.

Since capital flight and currency devaluation unleashed a devastating economic depression at the close of 2001,...

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