The dockers' strikes of 1928 in the south of Santa Fe

Abstract

On May 2, 1928, after years of light union activity, a dockers' strike broke in Rosario. Days later, several blood episodes rose workers solidarity with two general strikes which shook the city due to their agitation and violence. The dockers from Villa Constitucion also showed their solidarity and, one month later, led a violent labor claim. The initial reason for the strikes was remuneration, but the deep problem which puts together both experiences is the social struggle due to labor conditions deterioration and business impositions over the selection and control of the labor force. Initially, the spontaneity of the protest took the leftist union organizations ”” which had experienced several fractures during the '20s”” by surprise. Nevertheless, this would be the opportunity which explains the reorganization and dissemination of the labor movement afterwards. In another sense, the conflicts in Rosario and Villa Constitucion reflect the complex weave of politics in Santa Fe and its connection to the labor sphere. Likewise, we believe that the repercussion of the 1928 events goes beyond the strictly local one, as the events link themselves to a cycle of conflictivity which involved a good deal of the agro-export economy