http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9042

A turbulent economy in Argentina has been the catalyst for a novel movement. The economy in Argentina took a dive in the face of a massive bankruptcy, mainly caused by capitalistic initiatives forced upon the country and by the poor leadership of then-president Carlos Menem. The weakened state of the economy caused many factories to be shut down and for millions to be out of work. Theses workers, unemployed due to the closing of ceramic plants, garment factories, tractor factories and more, are taking over the empty buildings where they once labored. Unable to find other ways to provide for their families, the workers are taking it upon themselves to reopen the factories and produce. The slogan of this movement is short and clear “Occupy, Resist, Produce”. The workers refer to their occupation as expropriation. They believe that the companies owe the people money they earned but never received due to the immediate closure of the factories. Therefore, they believe they should be able to have use of the plant and do what they want with it. Legally, the workers must have their occupation seen as a cooperative in order to start the machines. These cases, when the judges have approved the request to turn an empty factory into a cooperative, have been surprisingly successful. By readjusting employee networks and by combining with other worker networks, the workers have been committed several successful takeovers.
The first major network found within the article is the network the workers form among themselves when they come together to reopen a factory. Often, these workers decide to compensate all workers the same amount, and to decide business issues at an assembly. This network structure, with everyone given equal pay and voice, is entirely different then the common job network. Usually, the employee network can be seen as a tree with a couple nodes at the top then branching downwards there become more and more nodes. This is a hierarchical network, with bosses (the top nodes) who have power over the managers (the middle nodes) who have power over the workers (the bottom nodes). The edges that connect the different levels of nodes are directional, moving from the higher to lower node, and represent the power positions. The ability of the workers in Argentina to organize in a donut-type network, where there is no clear line of command, raises questions about the current system and whether the hierarchical network should always be the structure for business. Their network also underscores their desire to work together, and efficiently, through their own will and not because of orders delivered from above.
The second major network in this article is the network forming between the different worker takeover groups. This network has become pivotal for workers attempting to make a cooperative because the network provides the workers with guidance, credibility and, if the cooperative is approved, it provides funds for starting production. Theses edges formed between the different groups, each with their own network, have strengthened the movement and have provided a larger voice for the individual groups. By coming together, the workers are able to successfully thwart those who oppose them and also give access to resources for those who want to join them. The collection follows the strucutural balance of networks as well. The network of worker cooperatives joined together forms one side of nodes with positive relations among each other. The network on the other side is composed of the owners of the factories and the anti-cooperative politicians, all with positive relations among each node. In between these two networks there is a negative relationship, fulfilling the claim that the label completed graph is balanced and divided into two groups, A and B. The situation in Argentina, and the workers reaction to it, can be explored even farther using network theory, and here I have discussed some of the preliminaries.