BETWEEN SOLIDARITY AND THE MARKET: HOW COOPERATIVES SUPPORT COLLECTIVE HEALTH AND ADDRESS INEQUALITIES

Abstract

Co-operatives are collectively owned, democratically governed enterprises recognized globally for their social and economic contributions. Although research highlights their role in poverty reduction, community development, and equity, limited studies explicitly examine how co-operative practices promote collective health and well-being. Drawing on eight months of critical ethnographic fieldwork within Costa Rica’s co-operative movement, this study investigates how co-operative responses to COVID-19 fostered collective health and the role of collective ownership and governance structures in shaping these responses. Data were generated through participant observation, 35 semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Findings illustrate that Costa Rican co-operatives function as people-centred organizational models that prioritize collective well-being over profit imperatives. During the pandemic, co-operatives implemented equitable salary reductions to avoid layoffs, supplemented state-provided sick and disability leave, invested in testing and vaccination, and expanded community reinvestments and mutual aid initiatives. These practices were grounded in democratic governance, reflecting participatory decision-making and the principle of “one person, one vote”, and were reinforced by Costa Rica’s robust legal and institutional framework, including mandated allocations of annual surpluses to social welfare funds. While co-operatives provide alternative, people-centred labour and organizational models, their transformative potential remains constrained by capitalist imperatives of growth, efficiency, and global market pressures. Price volatility, international competition, and supply chain demands can create pressures on co-operatives to reduce costs, which may result in limited protections for non-member and migrant workers, reflecting broader structural inequalities. Strengthening inter-cooperative networks and federated structures, as exemplified by the Mondragón Corporation, may enhance the transformative potential of co-operativism in Costa Rica, supporting more democratic, inclusive, and health-promoting local and regional economies.