Acknowledgements
A book is rarely written entirely by one person in isolation. This one is no exception. I could not have found the time and space to carry out and complete this research project without the care, kindness, generosity, enthusiasm, patience, frankness, forgiveness, and love of numerous people. In one way or another, they all traverse these pages.
First and foremost, I would like to profoundly thank my partner, Patricia DÃaz Barrero, and my son, Adrián Däxa Vieta DÃaz: For tolerating my idiosyncrasies, for granting me so much undeserved grace, and for surrounding me with overflowing love. The sweetest moments of this project were always when I would reunite with you both after a long day of reading or writing, or after returning from research or conference trips.
Second, I would like to thank my parents, Clelia and Eduardo Vieta: For your boundless encouragement and unconditional generosity. In so many ways you both prefigure the world many of us would like to see. ¡Están en mis pensamientos siempre!
The deepest thanks also to the mentors, colleagues, and friends who have influenced and continue to shape my intellectual journey and who have over the years supported this project. To my PhD committee, David McNally (my supervisor) and Viviana Patroni and J.J. McMurtry: Thank you so much for your time, guidance, assistance, and engaged interest in this research over the years! And many thanks also to Nick Dyer-Witheford, Sam Gindin, Mark Thomas, Daniel Schugurensky, Peter Sawchuk, Greig de Peuter, Stephen Dobson, Maurizio Atzeni, Richard J.F. Day, Andrew Feenberg, and Peter Ranis. You too have all been vital in helping me see this project to completion. Collectively, all of you have not only extended your enthusiastic support to me, but have also taken the time to provide me with the sharp feedback, probing questions, and keen observations that have invaluably shaped this book. Moreover, your commitments to creating a better world have been an inspiration to me.
I would also like to remember three intellectual and pedagogical giants who are tragically no longer with us and whom I had the privilege of calling mentors and friends: Jack Quarter, David F. Noble, and Roman Onufrijchuk. Their abounding kindness (especially with time), their deep understanding of the ethics of mentorship, and their inspiring teaching have left indelible marks in this book and in my life. You are all missed!
A special note of deep gratitude must go to my friend and frequent collaborator, Andrés Ruggeri, co-author of a section of Chapter 2 and Chapter 6 of this book. Thank you for helping me understand the intricacies and history of autogestión, and for all of your assistance and wisdom during my stays in Argentina. Thank you also for including me in some of the work of the Programa Facultad Abierta of the University of Buenos Aires, the Centro de Documentación de Empresas Recuperadas, and for inviting me early on to be a part of the International Gatherings of the âWorkersâ Economyâ. ¡Gracias por tu generosidad, amigo! And to Carlos MartÃnez, Natalia Polti, Javier Antivero, and Gabriel Clark of the Programa Facultad Abierta: ¡muchas gracias, también! You have all opened so many doors for me and have been generous with sharing the invaluable data you have collected over the years. Your commitment to university extension and activist scholarship and your acompañamiento of the workers of the empresas recuperadas is to be emulated. Much gratitude also to Graciela Monteagudo for helping me better understand Argentinaâs labour and social movement traditions as part of the Argentina Autonomista Project research and study tour, and to the many friends and mentors I met during that study trip in 2005, especially Pablo Pozzi, Rhiannon Edwards, and Michael Gould-Wartofsky.
And again, to Stephan Dobson, this bookâs astute editor: Many, many thanks for your time, for the engaging conversations that helped me clarify so much, for helping me see from the beginning that it is about the voices of the workers, for your editorial work and advice, for opening up your home to me, and, and, and ⦠Thanks also to Ashish Pillai for assisting me so adeptly with the in-text references and bibliography, to Dina Theleritis for indexing help, and to the editorial team at the Historical Materialism Book Series for taking an early interest in this project and for their patience and support throughout the editorial process.
To the rest of my Toronto compañeros, to my Vancouver friendships that have stayed strong despite the distance, and to the amistades that have unfolded in Canada, Argentina, Italy, and beyond since I started this project: Thank you Albert Banerjee, Enda Brophy, Fiona Duguid, Chris Bradd, Sonya Scott, Manuel Larrabure, Adrian Blackwell, Laureano Ralón, Gonzalo Ralón, Sean Smith, Mark Macool, Sean Matvenko, Cedric Johnson, Sonja Novkovic, Darryl Reed, Angie Hsieh, Dan Schick, Michael Felczak, Mike Newson, Christine Shaw, Marnina Norris, Dave Myles, James Wanless, Sheila Grant, Pablo Bose, Ryan Rogerson, Burgundy Code, Camila Piñeiro Harnecker, Wendy Holm, Heather Haynes, Sebastian Touza, Ron Vida, Scott Uzelman, Doug Lionais, Jorge Sousa, George Cheney, Larry Haiven, Giulia Galera, Barbara Franchini, Antonella Carrano, Carlo Borzaga, and Alberto Zevi. Without all of you in my life at key moments I would have been lost at sea in the depths of the details. The compañerismo of all of you â however far back or recently it extends, however brief or long lasting it has been â is precious to me.
I would like to also recognise the financial support that I received for parts of this project from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) through their Doctoral (2006â8) and Post-Doctoral awards (2013â14), from several SSHRC Institutional Grants (2015â17), and from a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant (2018â21). The University of Torontoâs Connaught New Researcher Award (2016â19) was also helpful in the final stages of this project. Many thanks also to my colleagues in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the University of Torontoâs Ontario Institute for Studies in Education for encouraging and supporting me in countless ways during the final stages of preparing this manuscript.
To my Argentine family: Carina Vieta, Paola Vieta, Gustavo Satriano, Guido Satriano, Delia Steinbauer, Maria Rullo, Adriana Rullo, Sergio Rullo, Florencia Rullo, and Laura Rullo. Gracias for taking care of me on my trips to Argentina.
And to my Colombian family: Gracias Gloria Barrero, my mother-in-law, in whose home I wrote several sections of this book. Your generosity has been boundless. And gracias to my brother-in-law Henry DÃaz and sister-in-law Ingrid Pinto, for helping us out in so many untold ways while we lived in Colombia, and now while you live in Toronto.
Above all, I would like to thank the workers of the empresas recuperadas and each person that I have interviewed and talked to in Argentina since 2005 about the themes in this book. I have learned so, so much from all of you. You have entrusted me with the stories of your experiences; given freely of your time; and have opened up your workplaces, assemblies, and homes to me. This work would have been impossible without you. I would especially like to thank Plácido Peñarrieta, Cándido González, Ernesto González, Mario Alberto Barrios, Oscar Barrios, Diego Ledezma, Javier De Pascuale, Esteban Torletti, Alejandro Torres, José López, and Eduardo Murúa: For the innumerable ways you have helped me better understand the political economy and history of Argentinaâs obreros, and for helping me see how your struggles to save your jobs and start a new life with your compañeros extend far beyond keeping a company afloat. ¡Gracias por enseñarnos nuevos caminos a ese otro mundo que buscamos!
All of these people, and many others, are the hidden co-authors of this book. Despite this, any missteps and glitches are solely mine.