by Michael Fox, yes!, Winter 2008
 Vicente Addiego in front of his home in the BANREP cooperative, where he has lived for 35 years.Photo by Silvia Leindecker |
It’s a social movement and a housing cooperative. A massive self-help program for the poor and a new way of life for thousands. With 20,000 member-families living in cooperatively owned homes in 400 communities across the country, it is one of the largest and most radical housing cooperative federations in the Americas.
The Uruguayan Federation of Housing for Mutual-Support Cooperatives (FUCVAM) is also one of the most organized social movements in Uruguay. Last March, Federation members led the demonstrations against President George W. Bush’s visit to the country, marching for five days to cover the nearly 125 miles from the nation’s capital, Montevideo, to the presidential estate where the U.S. President met with his Uruguayan counterpart, President Tabaré Vázquez.
The two concepts—housing and political activism—may not seem like natural partners. But FUCVAM’s principle of promoting autonomy in its member organizations translates into broader social engagement.