Latin America Congress highlights the importance of co-ops in the region

27 Nov 2012

More than 800 academics, industry experts and co-operators from across Central and South America participated in the Co-operative Congress of Mercosur, which unites Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Held in the city of Posadas, Argentina, between 5-6 November, the conference added a co-operative dimension to the Mercosur region, which is formed through an economic and political agreement between the countries to promote free trade.

The congress was opened by Argentina’s Vice-Governor, Hugo Passalacqua, and by Fabiola Bianco, representative of the Argentinian Ministry for Co-operative Action, Mutuals, Trade and Integration.

Vice-Governor of the Misiones Provence, Hugo Passalacqua said the region “has one of the highest percentages of co-operatives per person in America, one for every 1,000 people in the region".

Minister Fabiola Bianco also highlighted the importance of the Congress, aimed at giving Mercosur co-operators the chance to share knowledge and exchange experiences. She also said it is important to get the youth involved in co-operatives.

The academic sessions covered various topics related to co-operative development such as: strategic planning education, co-operative sustainability, legislation on worker co-operatives and social inclusion. The Congress also sought to recognise co-operatives within the Mercosur region as key to building a new social economy, where employers own and control their enterprises and where the emphasis is placed on people rather than on profit-making.

Federico Frank, President of Cooperativa Alto Uruguay Ltda (CAUL) shared his experience and described the evolution of CAUL across time. Panelists also debated introducing co-operative education in primary and secondary schools, as well as in universities across Mercosur countries.

Jorge Cartagena Bidondo, financial consultant for Mercosur’s Co-operative Union, spoke of the new integrational challenges faced by co-operatives.

Various representatives of the co-operative sector from across South and Central America including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Ecuador, Costa Rica were present at the event, among them Eduardo Fonrenla, Director of the Argentine’s Co-operative and Mutuals College, Alberto Mora Portuguez, responsible for Education and Training, ACI Americas and Dr Vicente Bogo, expert in business strategic planning in co-operative enterprises.

Photo: Alberto Mora Portuguez from ICA Americas speaking at the event