in democracy

Once democracy was recovered in Uruguay, in 1986, the decree was repealed but the cooperative movement continued to face major obstacles: authorizations for new legal entities, access to land and loans were impediments to its development and growth.

Starting in 1989, there were several occupations of idle public lands, proposing the creation of portfolios of official lands in order to make them available to cooperatives. In Montevideo, the departmental government signed an agreement with FUCVAM by which ten properties were awarded for cooperatives, responding to an old demand of the Federation.

In the 1990s, based on these experiences, FUCVAM raised the need for an urban reform that contemplated the reality of extreme poverty sectors and the demand for the use of central spaces in the city for cooperatives, achieving recycling with good results, with the support of financing from the Municipality of Montevideo and the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning.

In the early 2000s, FUCVAM expanded its reach through alliances with international organizations, developing activities to adapt and transfer its successful cooperative housing model to Central American countries, such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.[10]​.

FUCVAM developed social projects in cooperatives, financed by international cooperation (Community Teacher, Community Health, Food Plan), in addition to large mobilizations.[11]​ Among these, several marches to Punta del Este since 2018 stand out, demanding the uniformization and reduction of interest on loans to cooperatives.[12]​ This demand was achieved in February 2025.[13]​.

FUCVAM has had a leading role along with other actors in the promotion of various instances of direct democracy in Uruguay, highlighting among others its participation in the referendum on the Law of Expiry of the Punitive Claim of the State (1989), the referendum on the Law of Urgent Consideration "Referendum on the Law of Urgent Consideration (Uruguay)") (2022)[14]​ and the reform plebiscite retirement (2024),[15]​ reintegrating Intersocial as of 2022.[16]​.

The “FUCVAM model”

The model developed and promoted by FUCVAM follows five key principles:

1. • Solidarity: create unity based on common responsibilities and community support for families;

2. • Democratic participation: active participation of families and democratic decision-making throughout the planning, design and implementation process;

3. • Self-management: the cooperative allocates resources and directs all aspects of the project, without intermediaries;

4. • Mutual help: joint effort of each beneficiary family in the construction of all the homes, each one contributing approximately 21 hours of work per week; and.

5. • Collective ownership of property, providing security to families and avoiding speculation.[17]​.

The Uruguayan model promoted by FUCVAM is the result of years of experience in variable conditions of the political context in the country. It is based on the active participation of the members of the cooperative, future occupants of the homes, who in a process of direct self-management and with the support of technical advisors, direct and manage the construction process and make the necessary decisions for the successful completion of the projects. This generates a sense of belonging and empowerment and is reflected not only during construction but also in the subsequent maintenance of the housing complexes, which is carried out collectively by the residents themselves.

This model, in addition to addressing the construction of housing, also seeks to ensure the preservation of the National Housing Fund, which guarantees the sustainability of the process and allows the model to be a solution for a greater number of citizens in the long term.

Since 2000, the model has been gradually transferred to other Latin American countries, where it has been adopted and accepted as a viable and sustainable solution for access to decent housing. As a result, housing cooperatives founded on the principles of mutual aid and collective ownership are currently active in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay, and are in the process of establishing themselves in Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.[18]​.

Dictatorial period

During the civil-military dictatorship in Uruguay (1973-1985) "Civic-military dictatorship in Uruguay (1973-1985)"), FUCVAM joined other social organizations that supported and promoted actions of popular resistance, such as the Inter-Union Plenary of Workers (PIT), the Social and Cultural Association of Public Education Students (ASCEEP) and the Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ Uruguay), among others. These organizations, grouped together in the so-called Intersocial, agreed on slogans, programs and measures of struggle such as caceroleadas, blackouts and other forms of demonstration in rejection of the dictatorship.

The de facto government sought to eliminate this form of organization through a decree-law that converted housing cooperatives into private properties through the horizontal property regime, seeking to suppress the bases of the cooperative model. In 1983, the cooperative movement organized in FUCVAM resorted to a mechanism provided for in the Uruguayan constitution, starting a campaign to collect signatures to call for a referendum to annul the law. This initiative was supported by political parties and social organizations and achieved, in a single day, the accession of 330,000 signatures of the approximately 500,000 necessary to bring the law to a plebiscite. In February 1984, the necessary signatures were exceeded. However, the government ignored the almost 600,000 signatures submitted and continued to apply the law, converting housing cooperatives to horizontal property. FUCVAM responded by promoting among its affiliates the non-payment of the fee to the Banco Hipotecario del Uruguay, the institution in charge of financing the construction works.[8]​.

In 1983 FUCVAM and the aforementioned social organizations (PIT, ASCEEP and SERPAJ) integrated, together with the political parties National Party "National Party (Uruguay)"), Colorado Party "Colorado Party (Uruguay)"), Frente Amplio "Frente Amplio (Uruguay)") and Unión Cívica "Unión Cívica (Uruguay)"), the so-called Intersectorial Commission, which actively participated in the popular mobilizations of 1983 and 1984 for the recovery of democracy.[9]​.

in democracy

Once democracy was recovered in Uruguay, in 1986, the decree was repealed but the cooperative movement continued to face major obstacles: authorizations for new legal entities, access to land and loans were impediments to its development and growth.

Starting in 1989, there were several occupations of idle public lands, proposing the creation of portfolios of official lands in order to make them available to cooperatives. In Montevideo, the departmental government signed an agreement with FUCVAM by which ten properties were awarded for cooperatives, responding to an old demand of the Federation.

In the 1990s, based on these experiences, FUCVAM raised the need for an urban reform that contemplated the reality of extreme poverty sectors and the demand for the use of central spaces in the city for cooperatives, achieving recycling with good results, with the support of financing from the Municipality of Montevideo and the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning.

In the early 2000s, FUCVAM expanded its reach through alliances with international organizations, developing activities to adapt and transfer its successful cooperative housing model to Central American countries, such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.[10]​.

FUCVAM developed social projects in cooperatives, financed by international cooperation (Community Teacher, Community Health, Food Plan), in addition to large mobilizations.[11]​ Among these, several marches to Punta del Este since 2018 stand out, demanding the uniformization and reduction of interest on loans to cooperatives.[12]​ This demand was achieved in February 2025.[13]​.

FUCVAM has had a leading role along with other actors in the promotion of various instances of direct democracy in Uruguay, highlighting among others its participation in the referendum on the Law of Expiry of the Punitive Claim of the State (1989), the referendum on the Law of Urgent Consideration "Referendum on the Law of Urgent Consideration (Uruguay)") (2022)[14]​ and the reform plebiscite retirement (2024),[15]​ reintegrating Intersocial as of 2022.[16]​.

The “FUCVAM model”

The model developed and promoted by FUCVAM follows five key principles:

1. • Solidarity: create unity based on common responsibilities and community support for families;

2. • Democratic participation: active participation of families and democratic decision-making throughout the planning, design and implementation process;

3. • Self-management: the cooperative allocates resources and directs all aspects of the project, without intermediaries;

4. • Mutual help: joint effort of each beneficiary family in the construction of all the homes, each one contributing approximately 21 hours of work per week; and.

5. • Collective ownership of property, providing security to families and avoiding speculation.[17]​.

The Uruguayan model promoted by FUCVAM is the result of years of experience in variable conditions of the political context in the country. It is based on the active participation of the members of the cooperative, future occupants of the homes, who in a process of direct self-management and with the support of technical advisors, direct and manage the construction process and make the necessary decisions for the successful completion of the projects. This generates a sense of belonging and empowerment and is reflected not only during construction but also in the subsequent maintenance of the housing complexes, which is carried out collectively by the residents themselves.

This model, in addition to addressing the construction of housing, also seeks to ensure the preservation of the National Housing Fund, which guarantees the sustainability of the process and allows the model to be a solution for a greater number of citizens in the long term.

Since 2000, the model has been gradually transferred to other Latin American countries, where it has been adopted and accepted as a viable and sustainable solution for access to decent housing. As a result, housing cooperatives founded on the principles of mutual aid and collective ownership are currently active in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay, and are in the process of establishing themselves in Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.[18]​.