Resumen

GONZALEZ-BOZZOLASCO, Ignacio. Labor Relations and Union Containment in Paraguay: An Analysis from the Stronist Regime to the Democratic Transition. Poblac.Desarro. [online]. 2025, vol.31, n.61, pp.52-64. ISSN 2076-0531.  https://doi.org/10.18004/pdfce/2076-054x/2025.031.61.052.

The article examines the evolution of labor relations in Paraguay from the authoritarian regime of General Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) to the subsequent process of democratic transition following his fall. Its central objective is to understand the mechanisms used to contain the labor movement in both contexts, arguing that the shift from authoritarianism to democracy did not entail a full opening for union action but rather a change in the state's strategy. During the stronista period, a model of labor regulation consolidated that can be characterized as "sui generis corporatism," marked by a pro-government official union confederation controlled through formal and informal mechanisms that curtailed union autonomy and subordinated workers' organizations to the ruling party. By contrast, the democratic transition introduced a form of containment based on a "labor market model," which encouraged the fragmentation of unionism through organizational pluralism and the decentralization of collective bargaining. The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach drawing on the sociology of work and social history, and employs a qualitative, descriptive-explanatory design grounded in documentary analysis of legislative sources, institutional reports, and specialized literature. The main findings highlight the progressive loss of unions' bargaining power in the democratic context, the exponential growth in the number of union organizations, and the consolidation of an atomized and weak union field.

Palabras clave : unionism; corporatism; labor relations; democratic transition; Paraguay.

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