International Labor Organizations and their Impact on National Labor Movements: The Case of the ORIT and the ICFTU and Argentina, from the Late 1940s to the Mid 1980s

BASUALDO, VICTORIA

Glasgow

Congreso; European Social Science and History Congress; 2012

International Institute of Social History

This paper presents a very brief and limited summary of some of the main findings and interpretations stemming from an ongoing research process that focuses on the presence of the "free" trade union movement in Argentina and its impact on labor leaders and organizations. It specifically analyzes the impact and connections of the ICFTU and its regional organization for Latin America, the Inter-American Regional Workers´ Organization (Organización Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores, ORIT ), from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. First, the paper provides a historical and historiographical background about the ICFTU and ORIT. Second, it briefly analyzes key aspects of the international relations of the Argentine labor movement since its early times, in the late nineteenth century until the 1980s. Third, it presents a tentative chronology and interpretation of the relationship between the Argentine labor movement and the ICFTU-ORIT, as well as a first analysis of the characteristics of this relationship in each of the subperiods, based on a wide range of sources. Finally, the paper presents some concluding remarks and future research perspectives.