Cook 2002

Cook, María Lorena. 2002. "Labor Reform and Dual Transitions in Brazil and the Southern Cone". Latin American Politics and Society. 44 (1): 1-34.

• During democratic transitions governments are under pressure to restore civil and political rights, unions can make gains
• During economic transitions, unions face a variety of constraints, focus on survival
• Order of transition effects process and outcome of labor law reform
• In Brazil and Argentina, democracy then neoliberalism
• democracy led to greater, pro-labor reforms for unions
• later consolidation of neoliberal tried to roll back some of these labor protects
• In Chile, neoliberalism then democracy
• neoliberalism (and dictatorship) severely weakened labor movement
• later democratic transition brought some civil protections, but entrenched economic interests resisted strong labor protections
• Democratic Transitions
• both Argentina and Brazil inherit democratization and economic crisis
• Argentina
• First democratic government did not want to empower Peronist unions
• but business interests divide, labor not that divided, able to win demands
• Brazil
• CUT was oppositional to government, worked through the PT
• business divided here as well
• though able to beat some proposals, watered down others
• in the end, new Constitution was a bit of a labor relations hybrid
• WHEN DEMOCRACY FIRST, LABOR CAN BE MORE MILITANT
• Economic Transitions
• Argentina
• Menem had support of labor in the election
• first term:
• labor divided, some support Menem (in exchange for some concessions in law), others more combative
• CGT could not strongly resist flexibilization, but able to strongly resist losing obras sociales
• CGT focused on saving organizational resources, waited to fight another day!
• second term
• Menem threatens organization resources!
• unions mobilize
• favorable climate, because lots of popular discontent
• LABOR ABLE TO RESIST REFORMS THAT THREATENED IT’S RESOURCES, BUT NOT LIMIT NEOLIBERAL TURN
• Brazil
• Collor then Cardoso both beat Lula, no labor backing for them!
• political climate not favorable for unions
• labor divided, Forca Sindical willing to accept flexibility
• similarly to Argentina, labor has a lot of losses but is able to maintain significant resource reservoirs
• CHILE
• Story above
• Pinochet decimated unions
• employers unified
• even though labor had legitimacy going into democratic transition, too weak to do much
• political allies of labor accepts neoliberal model