The Take
(Filmmakers: Avi Lewis & Naomi Klein, 2004, 87 min)
Argentine workers take back their abandoned factories.

Speakers from Argentina:

Cecilia Sainz, lead field analyst for The Take

Ernesto "Lalo" Paret, activist member, Movement of Recovered Factories

Emcee: Dana Frank, teacher, author


The Take

In the wake of Argentina's spectacular economic collapse in 2001, Latin America's most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment. In suburban Buenos Aires, 30 unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to restart the silent machines. But this simple act -- the take -- has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head.


CECILIA SAINZ is a journalist by training, and her work over the last few years has focused on the recovered factory movement and other responses to the financial crisis of 2001. She was a lead field analyst for The Take with Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein. She has visited dozens of recovered, cooperative factories, interviewed countless workers, and fought for the success of the workers in efforts ranging from analyzing business plans to making Molotov cocktails. She is currently a member of The Working World which seeks to sustain the cooperative movement in Argentina. Ceclia is very familiar both with the world abroad and the very local struggles in Buenos Aires, and her keen perceptions provide fascinating insight into the life and struggle of workers in Argentina.


ERNESTO "LALO" PARET grew up in one of most infamous slums outside of Buenos Aires. Following the example of his mother, Lalo soon became a local leader, helping not only to fight for the rights of his community but also to organize its members into practical economic groups. After the financial crisis of 2001, Lalo became a key member of the Movement of Recovered Factories and was the organizer of countless factory take-overs and their subsequent transformation into successful businesses. Lalo quickly became a trusted source for The Take, and he can be seen on film organizing the Forja factory with the words "Occupy, resist, and produce." He is currently a member of The Working World which seeks to sustain the cooperative movement in Argentina.


DANA FRANK is Professor of American Studies at UC Santa Cruz. She is the author of Three Strikes with Howard Zinn and Robin D. G. Kelley, Buy American: The Untold Story of Economic Nationalism, and Purchasing Power. She is a member of AFT Local 2199, the National Writers Union, and the UCSC Faculty Association, and has long been active in labor solidarity work.


Del Mar Theater
Seats 500
1124 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz
Downtown, 2 blocks north of Metro Center