Launch of solidarity campaign with the
worker-recuperated company Nueva Era
The International Committee for Solidarity with Workers’ Self-Management in Argentina (https://solidaridadautogestion.noblogs.org/en-GB) is calling for an international solidarity campaign with the worker-recuperated company Nueva Era, one of only three that managed to begin a process of workers’ self-management (autogestión) and the recovery of their factory under the government of the far-right Javier Milei in Argentina. The call consists of raising the necessary funds to repair the machinery and purchase the spare parts and supplies needed to restart production and make it possible for its associated workers to definitively recover their jobs.
At the beginning of 2025, workers at Nexo, a printshop located in Buenos Aires, faced the closure of the workplace where some of them had been working for decades. Faced with the announced closure of the company due to the industrial collapse caused by Milei’s policies, the workers decided to embark on the path of self-management. Since the building where the company operated was rented by the owners, they decided to move to the facilities of another worker-recuperated company that, in solidarity, gave them space in its factory – Gráfica Patricios, located in the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The workers named their cooperative Nueva Era (New Era) and embarked on the difficult path of self-management in an extremely unfavorable context under Milei’s government (for information on the fate of Argentina’s worker-recuperated companies under the Milei government, see the report by the Programa Facultad Abierta of the University of Buenos Aires at https://recuperadasdoc.com.ar/). Although the previous workforce had been larger, the cooperative was initially formed by seven workers who took on the mission of restarting the company so that they could then employ the others (15 in total). To this end, this appeal to international solidarity is crucial, both to raise the necessary funds and to demonstrate that, even in these times when capitalist greed and right-wing infamy seem to be the norm, the working class continues to uphold its traditions of solidarity and struggle for a more just and egalitarian society. Nothing is more representative of these aspirations than workers’ self-management.
About the Nueva Era Worker Cooperative
The Nueva Era cooperative is a printshop that was recuperated in recent months by its workers after the crisis led to the bankruptcy of Nexo. With the support of other cooperatives, unions, and federations, Nueva Era is already producing in a new space: “We are confident that, in a short time, we will be able to move forward.”
The Nueva Era cooperative emerged from a series of crises that led to the bankruptcy of Nexo Industria Gráfica SRL. “In 2016-17, we began to decline gradually. We worked hard for companies that, little by little, began to display all their products online, and we were doing less and less.”
“When (Javier) Milei’s government came in, everything got worse and almost nothing was being produced. In 2023, the biggest production run was the ballots for the previous elections,” summarized Luis Serapio, president of Nueva Era.
After talking among ourselves, we realized we had two options: take over the factory or tough it out.
In addition to the economic crises, the company suffered a major setback: “A machine caught fire and almost burned down the entire factory. We held out as long as we could, collecting half our wages. We asked to speak to the owner, but he always gave us the runaround, so after talking among ourselves, we realized we had two options: take over the factory or tough it out.”
In this context, the workers negotiated a settlement with the owner and managed to keep some of the machinery, which they used to form the cooperative. As Serapio further explains: “We hadn’t been paid for some time, and last year, before the holidays, we told the owner to make a decision, and he said he was going to close down. We told him about our intention to form a cooperative and negotiated.”
Support from the cooperative and trade union sectors
The creation of Nueva Era was supported by the cooperative and trade union sectors. The Buenos Aires Graphic Federation (FGB) union collaborated by providing advice and helped move the machinery; the Gráfica Patricios cooperative offered a location, based on a mutual agreement. Nueva Era is now affiliated with the Federation of Self-Managed Cooperatives of the Argentine Republic (FEDECARA).
“We were left with a number of machines and that’s where we started. The agreement with Gráfica Patricios is that they don’t charge us rent and we help them with any work they have. That’s how we were able to get the cooperative off the ground,” said Serapio.
With very limited resources, Nueva Era held a raffle to pay for the installation of the machines. “The tabulator and the folder are already working, and with those few funds we are surviving, with great support from our families.” Thus, in July 2025, “we were able to start moving the machines.”
“For now, we have the desire to work and make this happen, despite the economic recession. With the will and support we have, we are building the cooperative. We are confident that, in a short time, we will be able to move ahead,” Serapio remarked.
We have been struggling a lot, but that does not take away our desire to keep moving forward.
“These last two years have been very hard for us,” Serapio emphasizes, “especially the last six months. We have been struggling a lot, but that does not take away our desire to keep moving forward. We are happy with what we are building and the support we receive.”
How to contribute
The International Committee for Solidarity with Workers’ Self-Management in Argentina is organizing a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising €15,000 to complete the overhaul of the machinery, purchase replacement parts for damaged components, and improve the quality of the work and supplies needed to begin production.
To this end, individual or collective donors can contact the members of the International Committee for Solidarity with Workers’ Self-Management in their countries or directly transfer amounts (starting from €10 for individual contributors) to the account of the Campichuelo Graphic Foundation, which belongs to another worker-recuperated company in the graphic sector and chairs the Federation of Self-Managed Cooperatives of the Argentine Republic. In order to identify the contributions, acknowledge them, and communicate them to the workers of Nueva Era, we request that each contribution made be communicated to the email address
solidaridadERT@proton.me.
Account for direct donations to the Campichuelo Graphic Foundation (Argentina):
About the Committee and how to join, visit: https://solidaridadautogestion.noblogs.org/