The political economy of neoliberalism, the collapse of the Argentine state, and workers' movements to recuperate their workplaces in the twenty-first century

The main argument of this thesis is that the adopted economic austerity policies in Argentina during the last quarter of the twentieth century led to the country's economic and financial collapse in early 2002, and that this fostered the development of autonomous social movements at the turn of the century. The crisis, collapse, and absence of the state allowed for workers and communities to take an active role in reorganizing their workplace and other aspects of their lives. The focus of this study is on the economic and social deterioration of the country, and will show how small and medium-size firms and the Argentine working class were adversely affected. Moreover, this study will examine the social movements of worker-recuperated factories and enterprises that emerged in response to the absence of the state. More specifically, the workers' narratives that describe their experiences in occupying their workplaces will be analyzed