MERCOSUR, the workers and ALCA: A study about the relationship between social-political unionism and the integration of the South Cone

Julio Godio
Editorial Biblos
Buenos Aires
2004

 

This book analyzes the challenges of the social-political unionism facing the Mercosur's "deepening" process, initiated in 2000. Here it's highlighted the rol of the Coordinating of Central Unions of the South Cone (CCSCS).

The Mercosur, created in 1991 by the Asuncion's Treatment, is the first "concentric circle" of insertion and protection for Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, to face the second mundialization wave of economy, or "globalization". It had been designed as a "common market" installed in a continent crossed by multiple treatments and bilateral and multibilateral commerce agreements, between 34 countries. In this way it had been formed a web of commercial nets between the Latin American and Caribbean countries, with United States, with the European Union, with the Asian Pacific countries, and other regions. Therefor isn't possible to analyze Mercosur without considering the commercial and integration processes ongoing in the region. The book's central thesis is that social-labor policies are a constitutive part of two big political-economic paradigms in struggle: the dominant neo-liberal paradigm and the arising "neo-developmentist" paradigm. Both of them develop themselves inside the market based economies matrix. The "social dimension" is an autonomous category, defined by the social and labor rights, and the ILO standards, but at the same time, they are a component of the politic economy. Because of that, the social-politic unionism necessary have to opt for identify itself with the neo-developmentist paradigm and support strongly the public policies which allowed the building of production-based economic systems and work-based societies, but it has to do it preserving its political-labor autonomy for representing workers' interests.

In this way the labor movements of the South Cone countries should influence the institutional reforms demands by Mercosur between 2003-2006 to pave de way to its constitution as an economic-political community, and to influence the ongoing negotiations about ALCA and the association agreement with the European Union.

Julio Godio, argentinean sociologist, had published several books about politics and world of labor questions. Some of them are: The Latin American labor movement 1880-1980, History of the argentinean labor movement 1880-2000, Unions and market-based economy, The Alliance: creation and destiny (1998), The world were we live (2000), Labor Sociology and Politics (2001), Argentina: in the crises is the solution (2002), and more recently ¿A Labor Party (PT) in Argentina? (2003). Currently he directs the World of Labor Institute (WLI) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Summary

Presentation

Introduction
  1. Mercosur's achievements and deficits
  2. A new institutionally
  3. Union policies in the Mercosur
  4. The link betweem social dimension and politic economy
  5. Remembering the notion of "social clause"
  6. The "deepening" of Mercosur and the social-politic unionism

Chapter 1: World-system and the ALCA's origins
  1. Why ALCA was born?
  2. The first version of ALCA
  3. The integration processes and the agricultural protection issue
  4. Social-politic unionism: its sight of the relationship between commerce, integration and social dimension

Chapter 2: The Mercosur in the "open regionalism"
  1. Economic and political questions in the currently phase of "deepening" and "relaunching" (2003-2006)
  2. La coordinación de políticas macroeconómicas

Chapter 3: Public supranational labor policies in the Mercosur

  1. The social-labor institutions as public labor policies makers

  2. Map of the social-labor institutions and agencies in Mercosur's structure

  3. The Working Sub-Group 10: from isolation to the net

  4. The Economic-Social Consultive Forum (FCES): building social-laboral consensus

  5. The Social-labor Commission and the Social-labor Declaration

  6. Towards the constitution of a social-labor net

Chapter 4: Labor markets and public labor policies of the member countries

Chapter 5: World of labor and integration in the Latin American and Caribbean countries: priorities and institutional experiences
  1. Outcomes of the opnening and the adjustment of the world of labor in the integration processes
  2. Earning wage workers and labor and union rights in the integration
  3. A witness case: FTA and NAFTA. Positive and negative aspects
  4. The transformation of the public hemispheric labor institutions aiming the sustentable integration
  5. Balance, trends and perspectives of the social-labor tripartite agencies

Chapter 6: Alternative designs and power lines in the ALCA
  1. Countries in the ALCA
  2. ALCA's structure
  3. Currently schedule of negotiation groups
  4. The net of free trade agreements in the Americas
  5. Countries blocks in Latin America and Caribbean
  6. The block's International Relationships
  7. The negotiation process in the ALCA
  8. Globalization, Commerce World Organization and Free Trade Agreements
  9. The new regionalism impact in the ALCA's negotiation
  10. Inter-union nets and union-civil society nets
  11. The ALCA in its final stage: from "rigidity" to "flexibility"
  12. Some comments about the VIII Commerce Ministerial Meeting on November 20th, 2003 in Miami

Chapter 7: Schedule of union strategic and programmatic priorities facing ALCA
  1. Two theories and two continental policies in struggle
  2. Supporting a possible continental integration
  3. Essence of the union social-politic platform: a work-based society as articulation of economy and policy
  4. The social-labor components of the union action in the integration
  5. The political-institutional components of the union action in the integration