Platform Cooperativism: an analysis of the Federação Nacional das Cooperativas de Mobilidade Urbana (Liga Coop)

• Grant number: 24/20848-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Aline Suelen Pires
• Grantee: Ludmila Carneiro
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In recent years, we have observed the proliferation of digital service platforms worldwide. As a result, the processes of 'uberization,' which point to the intensification of informal and precarious work, and 'platformization,' which highlights a growing dependency on digital platforms, have profoundly impacted contemporary social and labor dynamics. In response to this scenario, platform cooperativism emerges as an alternative based on principles of self-management, decent work, and valuing collectivity, even though it presents limitations and contradictions within the capitalist system. Considering the novelty of platform cooperatives and aiming to expand knowledge about these initiatives, our research interest focuses on a cooperative federation of drivers founded in 2023, the Federação Nacional das Cooperativas de Mobilidade Urbana (Liga Coop). The objective of this research project is to analyze the organizational forms of Liga Coop and the resources that the federation has been mobilizing to confront and resist the working conditions imposed by large digital platforms like Uber. Methodologically, the investigation is structured through qualitative research, including semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis.