[ICDE Report] How Do Platform Co-ops Work? Lessons from Argentina
Cite this Report:
Kasparian, Denise. 2023. “How Do Platform Co-ops Work? — Lessons From Argentina.” Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy. New York City.
In her 2022/2023 ICDE Fellowship Report, Denise Kasparian concentrates on the implementation of CoopCycle in Argentina, executed by a Federation of tech worker co-ops (FACTTIC). The implementation builds on CoopCycle’s success as an example to illustrate how platform cooperatives can scale and grow while maintaining anti-capitalist structures and practices. Kasparian places emphasis on the contextual factors and organizational resources in Latin America, identifying positive factors that contribute to successful implementation, such as the assistance of local organizers and the development of the Latin American Regional Network.
Platform co-ops have significant challenges in terms of legal and financial limits, the need for deeper community links, and balancing business and democratic aspects of the platform. The Argentine experience, however, reveals that a bottom-up approach, in which communities have a significant role in governance and decision-making, is essential for platform co-ops to grow democracy beyond their community of origin. The report investigates the benefits and challenges of CoopCycle for workers and communities in Argentina, while emphasizing the need for a more democratic and equitable Latin America, given the difficulties of cooperativism in a capitalist culture and a government unwelcoming to alternative economic projects.
About Denise Kasparian