Forum Post: "The Take" - Workers' self-management in Argentina
Posted 11 years ago on Sept. 25, 2012, 3:06 p.m. EST by struggleforfreedom80
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For those who haven't seen it yet, here's an excellent documentary by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis. "The Take"
Thanks for bringing this to us,sff. I'm going to give this a good look.
Avi Lewis is the son of 'Stephen Lewis', who is a former leader of the 'Social Democratic Ontario NDP Party and an extraordinary diplomat...whose mastery of vocabulary in his spellbinding speeches, I could listen to for hours. Avi is certainly 'cut from the same cloth'. Integrity +. Its a little late, but I will put time aside in the morning to watch it. Thanks again.
No problem. Hope you'll like it.
I also included some excerpts from this documentary in a video I put together called "Occupy your Workplace":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jRy5ZIYZok&feature=plcp
Thanks sff! I'm a half hour into "The Take" right now.
GR8 Post & well recommended viewing 'sff80' & thanx again ;-)
In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. However, this simple act - 'The Take' - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. In the wake of Argentina’s dramatic economic collapse in 2001, Latin America’s most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. The Forja auto plant lies dormant until its former employees take action. They are part of a daring new social movement of workers who are now 'Occupying Bankrupt Businesses' and creating jobs in the ruins of the failed system.
Like every 'Workplace Occupation', they have to run the gauntlet of courts, cops and politicians who can either give their project legal protection or violently evict them from the factory. The story of the workers’ struggle is set against the dramatic backdrop of a crucial presidential election in Argentina, in which the architect of the economic collapse - Carlos Menem, is the front-runner. His cronies, the former owners, are circling: if he wins, they’ll take back the companies that the movement has worked so hard to revive. Armed only with slingshots and an abiding faith in shop-floor democracy, the workers face off against the bosses, bankers and a whole system that sees their beloved factories as nothing more than scrap metal for sale.
With 'The Take', director Avi Lewis, one of Canada’s most outspoken journalists and writer Naomi Klein, author of the international bestseller 'No Logo', both champion a radical economic manifesto for the 21st century. But what shines through in the film is the simple drama of workers’ lives and their struggle : the demand for dignity and the searing injustice of dignity denied.
I hope readers can find an hour & half of time to watch this excellent documentary and again, thanx for posting & btw 'sff80' - 'Corium' is right - the first 10 minutes are "freaking awesome", lol.
fiat lux ...
Always good to hear for you, my friend.
btw, you can just call me Andy if you like :)
Solidarity.
Solidarity to you and thanx again 'Andy' ; I'm very pleased to meet you - I'm Shadz :-) & further to your 'forum-post', I also append :
fiat justitia ...
Yes, el modelo-neoliberlismo
Hopefully the "neoliberal" policies are at the end stages right now. I think the birth and growth of the Occupy Movement and massive protests increasing in number in several Western countries are indications of that.
Hope so, but I see a long road ahead.
It's not gonna end over night, and there'll be lots of forces trying to maintain the status quo, so the struggle for justice and freedom must continue for as long as necessary. Remember also that the current system isn't sustainable. The wealth keeps accumulating, and the destruction of the environment becomes increasingly severe. This can't continue much longer.
You're quite correct about the unsustainability factor. It may be more that, that brings about change than our personal efforts.
[Deleted]
What exactly do you think was "freaking awsome"?
Let me know what you think when you've seen the whole thing.
Your comments both stinkle!