December 2001: a tumultuous month for trade unions in Córdoba before the financial crisis

Abstract

In Argentina, the 2001 crisis found the regional delegation of the CGT Córdoba divided in two. This paper investigates how the subgroups of the CGT Córdoba interpreted and reorganized their collective behavior in the face of a similar conflictive process. Our aim is to compare the content of trade union action at two times: before and during the 2001 crisis. Here we distinguish the place occupied by the practice of protest by each of the organizations. We characterize their demands, repertoires and alliances with other social organizations during a period that spans from 2000 to 2002. The hypothesis that we propose is that the conflictive moments were processed unequally by each organization. One did not hold demonstrations and the other adopted a contentious position in the face of municipal, provincial and national policies. We rely on the tools of the theory of collective action for the analysis of trade union newspapers and magazines.