This book draws on my Ph.D. in Social Sciences, earned at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. I would like to acknowledge the institutions and people who made the thesis as well as this book possible. I thank the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas [National Scientific and Technical Research Council] (conicet), the University of de Buenos Aires, the Gino Germani Research Institute, the Centro Cultural de la Cooperación [Cultural Centre of Co-operation] and the Agencia nacional de promoción de la investigación, el desarrollo tecnológico y la innovación [National Agency for Promotion of Research, Technological Development and Innovation] (Agencia I+D+i) for funding the research.
I am particularly grateful to my advisor, Julián Rebón, and to my co-advisor, Rodrigo Salgado. I would like to thank also MarÃa Maneiro, and the examining committee members MarÃa Inés Fernández Ãlvarez, Verónica Maceira and Malena Hopp. I am also thankful to my colleagues and friends from the Observatorio Social sobre Empresas Recuperadas y Autogestionadas [Social Observatory on Recuperated and Self-Managed Enterprises] (osera), the Taller de investigaciones sobre cambio social [Research Workshop on Social Change] of the Department of Sociology, uba, and the Gino Germani Research Institute. Specially, Juan Miguel Ainora, Natalia Bauni, MarÃa Eugenia DÃaz, Gabriel Fajn, Leandro Gamallo, Candela Hernández, Eugenia Mattei, Agustina Súnico, Melina TobÃas and Fabio Troncoso.
I am indebted to Erik Olin Wright; whose untimely and sad death left the Pathways to a Cooperative Market Economy project unfinished. Different parts of this book were inspired by this work and presented during the Buenos Aires and Johannesburg meetings of the project. I would like to thank the Series Editor, David Fasenfest, the Production Editor, Judy Pereira, and Michelle Williams for the orientation during the preparation of the manuscript. A special acknowledgement to all those people whom I interviewed during the course of the research and, in particular, to the workers of the two co-operatives that I analyse in depth in the book.
I wish to thank Pablo Alà and Ian Barnett for their expertise and commitment with this book, and to Alejandro, Ana and Miguel for their love and support during the laborious years of research to earn the Ph.D.
I end by thanking Diego, for his supportive guidance, suggestions and insights, and above all, for his love and for taking care of me.