Register of the popular economy: who can register

The national government will open this week the National Registry of Workers of the Popular economy, with which it will seek to make those products “productive” ventures peripherals to the system developed by 6 million people in the country, with the conviction that the coronavirus pandemic will force to demand forms of production “closer to the needs of society and less focused on mass consumption”.

This was announced by the national director of Social Economy and Local Development, Pablo Chena, who synthesized that the first objective of the registry aims to “make visible” this wide universe of the economically active population, which equates the 6 million workers in the formal private sector and doubles the total of 3 million public sector employees .

“The Emergency Family Income (IFE) was a reality blow because it showed an economy that was not visible, so the registry has the initial objective of ‘thinking’ about the popular economy, registering it, establishing its branches, its activities, its productive units and where they are developed, “explained the official.

Towards an economy of production

The second objective of that “map” that will begin to be drawn up next week -first with a virtual modality for the pandemic and then with face-to-face operations in the territories- aims to resignify the gaze on these informal workers.

“It was always seen as the economy of necessity, but our idea is to change that concept and make it the economy of production; we want social policy to move from assisting vulnerable sectors to developing the work they do, dignifying it , order it and promote their own ventures, “said Chena, an economist who worked as a researcher at Conicet and as a professor at the University of La Plata.

Women and men who sustain themselves – or were sustained before the coronavirus – with street vending, family farming, street art or caring, cleaning windows, painters, serene, electricians, dog walkers, shoe shine, freighters, caretakers in neighborhood kindergartens, cartoneros, gas workers, recyclers, bricklaying assistants and upholsterers, among others, may register in the registry.

These are those who created their own work from their knowledge and trades in individual or collective productive units, characterized by their asymmetric relationship in the financial, commercial or fiscal sphere.

“They are the ones who do essential jobs that are not productive today and make up 50% of the economically active workers,” said Chena, for whom the ‘after’ the pandemic will reaffirm the idea of ​​moving towards “a closer post-industrial way of producing to the needs of society and less focused on mass consumption. ”

This universe is not “productive” because “it does not have access to credit, nor to market structures to sell, not even to labor rights and they are victims of usury,” he warned.

In addition, Chena appreciated the fact that since these people “developed their activity based on their own needs, they are much closer and better understand the need, than the business.”

Financing options

Another premise of the registry will be to provide these workers with “financial instruments in line” with the popular economy, non-bank state loans “in reasonable conditions” for their evolution, rights to social work and to a retirement framed in a type of productive single-tax, which the government is studying to develop.

This proposal will begin to materialize through the website www.argentina.gob.ar/desarrollosocial/renatep and is part of the post-pandemic crisis exit plan, analyzed between President Alberto Fernández, the Minister of Social Development, Daniel Arroyo and the movements social.

The Government’s initiative will bring credit to the popular economy sector.

The registry is organized into eight branches, to differentiate the segments of the popular economy:

1) Popular commerce and works in public spaces.

2) Recovery, recycling and environmental services.

3) Construction and social infrastructure and environmental improvement.

4) Manufacturing industry.

5) Socio-community services.

6) Family and peasant agriculture.

7) Transportation and storage.

8) Personal services and other trades.

Those who are 18 years of age or older and who do not have more than two properties in their name, nor have a job in a relationship of dependency that exceeds the vital and mobile minimum wage, are authorized to register.

Those who are enrolled in the simplified regime of small taxpayers will not be able to access either: only categories A, B, C and D or holders of the social monotax or “promoted” monotributistas will be admitted.

Sex work, which had initially been included as a possible category, was left out of the registry and will be analyzed and addressed separately by the Ministry of Social Development.

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