Benclowicz 2011

Benclowicz, José. 2011. "Continuities, Scope, and Limitations of the Argentine Piquetero Movement". Latin American Perspectives. 38 (1): 74-87.

• Introduction
• looking at Tartagal and Mosconi in Salta province (74)
• piquetero movement became the reference point for the area's working class, even displacing official unions
• Piquetes, workers, and the unemployed
• despite the fact that piqeuteros came fro many different classes, the term became closely identified with the unemployed movements (76)
• Three types of groups
• autonomous groups such as the UTD
• those connected with left-wing parties, such as the CTD, and MTL
• those linked to unions, like the FTV
• but also interlocking groups
• CCC is a workers and unemployed group with ties to communist party
• Leaders and Followers
• UTD (Mosconi)
• started in 1996 by an ex-YPF union militant (77)
• started presenting its own initiatives to the municipal government, and took controla of social assistance programs after a big roadblock in 1999
• questioned for allowing one of its memebrs to be part of governmet (78)
• CTD (Tartagal) created and led by a Polo Obrero leader (77)
• gained control of planes trabajar in 2000 (78)
•  this created distance between leaders and rank and file
• Simliarities
• leaders were usually ex state employees with union experience
• grassroots components were usually unemployed without much union experience
• "government wouldn't listen, so we block the roads"
• Piquetero Associations as union-social organizations
• these groups took over militant functions, like demanding wage increase on public works,  not taken up by the official unions (81)
• eventually some of the piquetero groups gained control of hiring on public projects, which is a big change from normal capitalist relations
• employers had to start negotiating with piqutero organizations to get labor (82)
• the official unions were subordinated to political power, so by gaining power on their own piquetero organizations usually forced unions out of the way, took the place they should have had
• Coordination
• UTD and CTD convened congress in 2000, set seven demands (including control of hiring, wage levels, set level of plaes funds, etc) (82-83)
• activists and leaders suffered harsh repression in June 2001 (83)
• The Coordination became a nucleus for the regrouping of unemployed and the labor movement allowed for joint actions, before it was crushed in summer of 2001
• meaning this movement seemed to present a real threat to the social and poltiical order...
• but failed to transcend in regional definition, and thus unable to survive state repression (84)