Adaptación y resistencia sindical: Trayectorias divergentes de resiliencia organizativa en Perú (CGTP) y Argentina (CGT) ante rupturas autoritarias e imposición neoliberal

This study empirically analyzes the significant divergence in levels of organizational resilience and membership density between Argentina’s General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and Peru’s General Confederation of Workers (CGTP). Despite facing similar critical junctures—military dictatorships in the 1970s and sudden neoliberal shocks in the 1990s—Peruvian trade unionism suffered a continuous organizational collapse, while the Argentine union maintained formidable representative power. Through comparative analysis and process tracing, the study argues that this gap stems from the different path dependencies forged in their foundational models of political engagement. The CGT built its resilience on a historical corporate integration with Peronism and on solid institutional resources, resisting neoliberalism through a pragmatic “corporate unionism.” In contrast, the CGTP operated under a “class-based unionism,” characterized by direct confrontation, partisan isolation, and extreme fragmentation into precarious company unions. It is concluded that institutional survival requires intertwining material defense with strategic integration into the political system, rather than relying solely on militancy.