Hotel BAUEN: Threatened With Eviction

Once again for solidarity! Time to defend our victories!

The Hotel BAUEN has become one of the most significant symbols of the worker recuperated businesses here in Argentina. It’s exactly this symbol of a worker power and progress that the state is hoping to repress now. This Saturday, July 21^st, the worker cooperative at the Hotel BAUEN was served with an eviction order, giving them one week to leave the building. We cannot allow such an important movement advance to be pushed back.

History

The hotel hasn’t always been a symbol of progress and promise. The 20-story building was built in 1978 with massive state subsidies from the military dictatorship then in power. It quickly became a symbol of upper class luxury in Argentina. During the 1990’s and the failures of the neoliberal model pushed by the International Monetary Fund and President Carlos Menem the business began to fail. With the total lack of imagination consistent of capitalist management, the owners saw no option but to close the hotel. On December 28^th, 2001 – shortly after the neoliberal economic model in Argentina collapsed, and the people revolted – the Hotel BAUEN was closed leaving all of its workers unemployed.

On March 23^rd, 2003 a group of around 30 former hotel workers met with delegates from other recuperated businesses around the country. They headed to the hotel, broke the lock to the entrance, and while occupying the building, began the legal process of applying for cooperative status. Upon arriving they found a nearly destroyed building, no inhabitable rooms, and no electricity. In the following months, the workers began fixing the hotel. They rented out rooms as they became available, and in December 2004 opened up the front café. Today the entire 200 rooms are open for business; there is a convention hall, concert space in the basement, and bookstore in the lobby. The workers have even managed to do what is so rare in Argentina today: create jobs. From the initial 30 cooperative members that took the space, there are now over 160 cooperative members.

Inspiration

All of the accomplishments of reopening the hotel have been done through democratic worker self-management. Decisions are made through assemblies and the workers themselves control all profits of the hotel. This success has been an inspiration to movements throughout the country. The story of their success has been spread in part through the cooperatives consistent solidarity with other movements. Once a week you can find the subway worker assembly delegates organizing their union’s struggle. Activist groups use the space for gatherings and conferences. There are frequent concerts put on by social groups. In the basement the activist media group Alavio has editing space, and there are constant movement discussions happening in the lobby restaurant and bookstore.

The Hotel BAUEN worker cooperative has not only inspired activists in Argentina, but throughout the world. Lessons have been taken from the Hotel BAUEN by worker cooperatives, union movements, and cultural centers throughout the world. They have demonstrated the possibilities of solidarity economics in the face of tremendous pressure, and managed to run a socially conscious business better than many of the exploitative businesses in the city of Buenos Aires.

Threats and Repression

Of course the state of affairs based on exploitative economics can’t allow this model to gain a successful stronghold and continually transmit inspiration throughout the world. During their process of opening the hotel they have been faced with numerous legal challenges and eviction orders. Despite all of their tremendous work the BAUEN cooperative still has not obtained a full legal expropriation. However, the current eviction order represents a considerable escalation against the cooperative on the part of the state. Past evictions have come from relatively minor problems, like possible fire hazards that needed to be fixed. The eviction order received this past Saturday is considerably stronger, saying that the cooperative must leave because they have stolen the building. The local government is showing their true political colors by asserting the property rights of those that gained the building from the military dictatorship and destroyed it over those that have revitalized it.

In the past eviction orders have been fought off in part through massive solidarity efforts. The example of the Hotel BAUEN worker cooperative has provided insight and motivation to many of our movements throughout the world in recent years. It’s our obligation to stand with them now and repay all that they have already given each of us. No, it’s not an obligation; it’s an honor to stand with these courageous people.