Argentine Industrial Union
 |
|
| Founded | 1887 |
|---|---|
| Type |
Employer federation Advocacy group |
| Focus | Business advocacy |
| Location | |
|
Area served
|
 Argentina
|
| Method | Political lobbying |
|
Key people
|
Héctor Méndez, President |
| Website | Unión Industrial Argentina |
The Argentine Industrial Union (Spanish: Unión Industrial Argentina, or, UIA) is the leading industrial employer federation and advocacy group in Argentina. The UIA is a member of the International Organisation of Employers.
A precursor to the Argentine Industrial Union was founded on August 29, 1875, by a group of Buenos Aires manufacturers. The Argentine Industrial Club was organized to "establish a society at the disposal of local manufacturers in their efforts to secure the adoption of economic reforms." Overshadowed during the 19th century by the dominant wool and hides merchants, local industry was further marginalized by the 1876 advent of transatlantic chilled beef and cereals shipping.
The Industrial Club's early supporters in Congress included such distinguished figures as Miguel Cané, José Hernández, Vicente Fidel López and Carlos Pellegrini, and through their support the Club obtained the passage of a customs reform bill that included protective tariffs on an array of consumer non-durables (such as processed foods and textiles). The Industrial Club organized its first exposition in 1877; but differences among its membership over support for President Nicolás Avellaneda led to the group's 1878 division. An initiative led by Corrientes Province Senator Antonio Cambaceres resulted in the February 7, 1887, establishment of the UIA, whose membership reflected a reunified industrial lobby.
The UIA, to be sure, represented at best a secondary sector in the Argentine economy at the time. An 1887 industrial census taken by the group revealed 400 industrial establishments, and 11,000 production workers (these figures exclude a considerable amount of cottage industry). The UIA, which initially represented domestic manufacturers, was also overshadowed by the small, but growing, numbers of foreign industrial subsidiaries (mainly British). The group enjoyed increasing support among the nation's lawmakers, however, and the inaugural of Carlos Pellegrini as President following a political crisis made the UIA a powerful influence for the first time. One of the first milestones in this new era was the 1891 customs law, which for the first time in Argentine history set tariffs on a number of imported industrial supplies at or below those of finished goods.
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Wikipedia