Abstract
Cooperatives fulfilled a broad and central role not only in the economic development, but also in the creation of civil society, in a population decimated and fragmented by the politics and culture of the Franco dictatorship. The province of Almeria, Spain, is an example of smallholding rapid development due to the expansion of intensive greenhouse horticulture. It was the poorest Spanish province per capita in 1955, semi-arid, drought-ridden, and devoid of significant infrastructure. Its undereducated population held little promise for economic growth and a massive migration out of the province left it depopulated. Subsequent economic and social development of Almeria was closely tied to the establishment of both credit and agricultural cooperatives, which supported a new greenhouse agriculture for small plot family farmers organized around cooperatives. This paper focuses on how cooperatives were fundamental in constructing civil society for the benefit of poor rural people, even in the presence of significant negative social capital and undemocratic institutions during the Franco dictatorship. As the sector has modernized and matured, cooperatives have led the sustainable transformation of the business ecosystem. However, current shortcomings in the Almeria cooperative movement and civil society and challenges yet to be met are also raised.
Highlights
Introduction and Theoretical FrameworkIn the 1950s and 1960s Almeria, a province of Southern Spain, was known for its abject poverty and bare and arid landscapes
This paper argues that cooperatives were able to “build something from nothing” economically, but that they were able to create social capital amongst fragmented and disenfranchised people and foster civil society that worked to the benefit of the rural poor
This paper focuses on a subject far not considered within the agricultural and credit cooperative movement in Almeria: The creation of social capital by the cooperative movement during the Franco years amongst the rural poor and excluded, which subsequently led to the cooperative movement filling a civil society vacuum and creating new non-state institutions which form the backbone of the socio-economic context in Almeria
Summary
In the 1950s and 1960s Almeria, a province of Southern Spain, was known for its abject poverty and bare and arid landscapes. This paper argues that cooperatives were able to “build something from nothing” economically, but that they were able to create social capital amongst fragmented and disenfranchised people and foster civil society that worked to the benefit of the rural poor This is not to suggest that there was “nothing”; for there were institutions such as the State, the Church, and the Family, brimming with social relations and networks, some of which will be described . The cooperative movement did not have its roots in pre-existing territorial or community ties (bonding social capital), as its family member base was predominantly from other areas, driven by economic necessity to populate the region This latter point distinguishes Almeria from other cooperative economy areas of Spain, such as the Basque region and Valencia, where culture and territory served an important function: The “something” which formed the base for civil society and/or collective action. With time the formerly excluded can become non-inclusive to a wide range of stakeholders
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