Cooperativism and social inclusion

the case of institutional markets in Southern Brazil

Abstract

It was in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul that Brazil's first cooperatives emerged. However, it was also in this state that the emergence of business cooperatives, economic organizations that grew during the 1960s and 1980s, thanks to the generous subsidies of the authoritarian state (1964-1985), is witnessing. The economic crisis unleashed during and after the 1980s - the lost decade - shook the foundations of business cooperativism and the principles of this economic and social doctrine. This article focuses on a completely different reality, namely, that of small family farming cooperatives located in the southern tip of Brazil whose emergence is inextricably linked to the implementation of food security policies, especially through institutional purchases led by public entities, example of the School-Restaurant of the Federal University of Pelotas. Such a system proves to be efficient both from the point of view of ensuring that demand is met and of promoting the social inclusion of rural families that are part of the cooperatives' membership. However, this process is interrupted due to the bureaucratic impositions of the federal control bodies, a fact that generates uncertainty and discouragement for the actors involved in this process. Meanwhile, there remains recognition of the virtues of cooperativism as a way to reconcile economic development with social justice and to encourage innovation, learning and convergence around common interests and goals. The aim of the article is to reflect on this experience in the light of concrete reality. This approach was based on a qualitative methodology whose emphasis was in depth interviews with a semi-structured script applied to various social actors, especially leaders and producers who work in cooperatives linked to institutional markets.

Keywords: Food security. Family farming. Cooperativism. Institutional Markets.