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Abstract
A concrete alternative economy has been developing in Brazil since the end
of the 1980s, which involves both country and city workers and is based
on the structuring of solidary economic enterprises (SEE), in which selfdeveloped
popular cooperatives stand out. This alternative economy has
brought with it new challenges, among them the need for ongoing technical,
administrative and political education as a fundamental element in the search
for equilibrium between social and economic issues. This article analyzes the
Solidary Economy in Brazil, particularly from the standpoint of the challenges
faced by the cooperative agrarian reform of the Landless Rural Workers'
Movement (MST). Starting from the historical process in which landless
workers began to organize, agrarian cooperation has become an important tool
for the workers' settlements. On the other hand, the reality of the capitalist
economy has obliged cooperative workers to adopt administrative tools that
contribute toward the social and economic viability of their enterprises. The
backdrop to this issue is the need to deepen the debate about the possibility
of conceiving SEEs that are capable of survival and growth in the capitalist
economy, incorporating technical progress, rationalizing productive and work
organization, bringing social benefits to their members, and acting as the
political force behind the workers' struggles, as well as ensuring democratic
and autonomous administration.