Global production systems and their local expression in semi-peripheral countries: Accumulation and institutional arrangements in the soybean production chain, in Argentina (2002-2015)

This research work seeks to consider the dynamics posed by the soy global chain, with respect to the way in which its productive organization is articulated at the international level and its local insertion in a peripheral accumulation regime as is the case in Argentina. To wit, since the 80’s up to the present time, the soy chain in Argentina shows some continuos increase in practically all the productive variables -sown , production, grinding and exports areas, among others- . From an exclusive exporting angle, the complex shows an important influence in the insertion type shown by the country to the international division of labor. Considering the export pattern mainly defined by first transformation products, the soy chain lasts in time as one of the main forex providers of the country. In this specialization in primary products, which is expressed herein through the international insertion pattern of the soy chain, lies the dilemma steming from the peripherical nature of the productive structures of the country. On the basis of studies on Latin American Structuralism, it may be argued that any intent to advance in an insertion type different from the primary ones, is hindered by the emergency of the external restriction crisis, related precisely to the primary insertion and a consequential structural heterogeneity (Prebisch, 1949 and Pinto, 1970). Thereby, the upkeep of a growth period in a peripheral country, is closely related to the dynamics of foreign exchange activities. In this sense, the contribution that may provide a study about the dynamics shown by the oleaginous soybean complex in Argentina, seems to be significant. Now, the period that runs between 2003 and 2007 is shown as the five-year period of the greatest growth of Argentinean economy in the last hundred years. From a regulationist perspective, this entails the configuration of a new accumulation regime, as long as the imbalances generated by the accumulation process itself, are transiently reabsorbed (Boyer, 2007). In a peripheral country as in the case of Argentina, this would imply the postponement of the external restriction crisis, where the soy complex is considered one of the forex providers main activities. In this context, a study on this chain dynamics would not only be significant but it may be also be explanatory to investigate the way in which this chain dynamics articulates with the post-convertibility accumulation regime. In this respect, important contributions have been found with relation to the analysis on the relationship between the primary sector and the post- convertibility accumulation regime in Argentina. For its part, CENDA (Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Argentino – Central Studies for Argentinean Development)(2010:290-316) holds that what distinguishes the behaviour of this sector during the period, is its surplus distribution. The mass of agricultural income that during the Convertibility regime (1991-2002) was hidden by the overvalued currency, becomes visible again as from 2002, within a context of a competitive exchange rate. Following this line, Basualdo (2011) adds that the hegemonic actor of the agricultural sector -diversified oligarchy- coexists with the distributionist and industrialist policies deployed during the growth period between 2003-2007. Nevertheless, as it is pointed out in both works, this complementarity between the regime and the primary sector was interrupted in the face of the distribution conflicts that emerged from the moment in which this new regime starts to show signs of exhaustion. Still, from a perspective of global production chains –either in Hopkins and Wallerstein´s pioneer version (1986) or from Gereffi and Korzeniewicz´s approach (1994 and Gereffi et al 2005)-, it is noticed that as from the 80´s, the primary soy activity in Argentina, is inserted in production global structures. To wit, the localization of multinational companies (MNC) in the country increases, while the role of Economic Groups grows, as a form of organization of competition. In that sense, an approach exclusively centered in the primary sector is not enough to explain the wider lattice in which the economic agents interfere. Along this line, Gutman and Feldman´s contribution is noteworthy, who take the soy chain as the object analysis of the oil chain and explains the process from which the industrial link consolidates during the 80´s. The authors acknowledge a relevant participation of Local Economic Groups (LEG) in the crushing industry and of the Multinational Companies (MNC) in the external commercialization stage of the chain. Furthermore, this job has been updated for the 90´s by Gutman and Lavarello (2003), where the centralization and foreignization processes are set forth by those who go through the industrial and commercialization links of the chain, within the framework of the deregulation and privatization policies of Argentinean economy and the exit from the crisis of the Convertibility regime (2001). Indeed, from this last approach, it is possible to consider the dynamics of the soy chain, beyond the national scale. Nevertheless, in spite of the widening action field of economic agents, toward a global level, it is important to point out that the institutional agreements that regulate capital accumulation, are validated within the framework of a specific national accumulation regime. At this point, according to this research, investigations on soy complex following a global approach, seem to ignore the complementarities that arise between the chain and the different accumulation regimes. In the face of this thematic vacancy, this research work addresses its general goal integrating the perspectives of the Global Merchandise Chains and of Latin American Structuralism, as from the essential questions of the regulationist analytical framework, which seeks to explain the way in which certain entities (institutional structures) historically determined, and independent a priori ones, may imply an evolution of the compatible set (regulation mode), or not, with capital accumulation. Then, taking up this idea, about the institutional arrangements that allow to “pilot” the transient improvement of the immanent limits to the capital accumulation process, the complementarities between the dynamics of a productive complex currency provider organized at an international level, together with soy global chain and an peripheral accumulation regime as the post- convertibility in Argentina, are analyzed. In this sense, an object of study has been built up from which it is possible to tackle the different scales in which the phenomenon develops. From the chain perspective, it is focused on the way in which the different countries are inserted in the global productive system, where the peripheral or central nature is defined on the basis of a global power structure, which is configured according to the provisions of the strategic resources and the appropriation of the value inside the chain, held by the different agents. In turn, the insertion of peripheral countries in these chains is understood with relation to pre-existing productive structures. In this sense, from the historic-structural methodological approach (from Latin American Structuralism), historic configurations of the different economic and social structures, together with the differentials hierarchies and functions, are distinguished, explaining the conditions that explain its present structure ,in Argentina, the soy global productive system. Lastly, under the delimitation of a meso level, main the institutional arrangements are analyzed –between the chain agents and, between these and the government- that transiently postpone the chain accumulation crisis and the national regime crisis during the period between 2003 and 2007. Furthermore, to understand the transformation dynamics, the agents action field has been interpreted on the basis of conflicts that arise from the search of new institutional arrangements, in the face of the accumulation crisis that is foreseen both at the international and national level from 2008 onwards. To address the issues raised, this research is mainly based on the analysis of secondary sources of academic, journalistic origin and from several state and private orders. Nevertheless, a triangulation is carried out with primary sources, to guaranty the internal and external validity of the results (Yin, 2003). To the construction and analysis of quantitative indicators, an approach that contemplates the actor`s perspective has been added. In this case, the sources arise from semi-structured and unstructured interviews to actors related to the soy chain, from the different influence areas (primary producers, government officers – Agriculture Department, Economy Department, INASE- technicians of the main entities of Science and Technology in the sector –INTA Pergamino and Manfredi- members of sectoral organizations –ACSoja (Asociación de la Cadena de la Soja – Soy Chain Association”) and FAA (“Federación Agraria Argentina” – Argentinean Agrarian Federation) - and academics specialized in different aspects related to object of the study). Finally, the data analysis is carried out on the basis of the technical pattern matching, while it allows to compare empirical structures of the selected networks with the theoretical structure to verify and/or modify the original hypothesis (Yin, 2003). As the results of this thesis, it is possible to synthesize several significant issues with respect to the objectives and queries that have given a structure to this research work. i. In the first place, as a corollary to the historical background, it is noted that the soy chain shows a consolidated global government structure at the end of the XX century. A few Multinational Companies of the central countries, lead the complex placing themselves in those links that have high income barriers, such as the large scales of crushing and commercialization, together with the high costs in Investigation and Development of the sector of biotechnological inputs - genetically modified seeds and associated agrochemicals-. Within this scheme, Argentina is inserted from products of a first transformation – fundamentally flour and soy pellets- where China receives practically 80% of the country exports. For its part, the national capital –essentially the diversified oligarchy- participates in the industrial chain from Local Economic Groups and, in a quasi-exclusive way, in the primary link of the chain, under a significant technological dependence on the input supply of the Multinational Entities; ii. Within the framework of a set of institutional arrangements that become consolidated as from 2003, with the new accumulation regime, an important innovation rent transfer is carried out from the Multinational Companies of the biotechnical sector toward the primary producers. This also guarantees that traders and Economic Groups of the crushing may profit from their scale advantages, avoiding a devaluation of their physical assets. On the other hand, the regulation of a competitive exchange rate implied extraordinary profits for the chain. A mass cost effectiveness, that allowed the government to tax imports and re- direct this income or return toward other economic sectors. In parallel, a process of partial re-institutionalization of the wage relationship, albeit under the inherent conditions of the structural heterogeneity in the periphery is evidenced. Lastly, the foreign exchange earnings allowed to transiently overcome the crisis –between 2003 and 2007- the crisis of external restriction, as a chain and regime, grew steadily. In effect, this lattice of institutional arrangements confer unequalled centrality to the influx of foreign currency into the country through the soy chain. A weft of complementary interests that give a significant structural power to the main exporting Multinational Companies and the diversified oligarchy of the chain; iii. Finally, within the context of the international crisis of 2008, the chain is diversified toward biodiesel, while an intense capital concentration is noted. The weight and gravitation of China in the participation and share of the acquisitions and merges of the period, consolidate a government structure commanded increasingly by their purchasers. Within this framework, the expansion of the Chinese oil industry opens a query with respect to the insertion of Argentina in the chain, while the manufacture of first transformation products slightly diminishes over the exports of grains. In turn, at the local level, a stage begins where the tensions and unbalances accumulated during the expansion period in the core itself of the economic mechanisms and institutional commitments that postponed the crisis, become apparent. In the face of the emergency of the structural limits of external restriction, the main exporting Multinational Companies and the diversified oligarchy find the favorable conditions to press new institutional arrangements –fundamentally a new exchange rate devaluation- that may guarantee not only a greater value appropriation, but also a dominant role in the productive structure. In sum, this weft of positions that shape around the accumulation regime contains in itself the structural limit for the reproduction of the regime itself. The relative autonomy of the State is then contingent to the degree of cohesion of the main agents of the chain, and to the concrete strategy that those capitals chose on the basis of their accumulation needs at the international level. To sum up, from the thesis some certainties emerge but above all, this research has aroused concerns as it developed. On the whole, such issues may constitute a contribution for the inter- disciplinary studies that integrate the great geographic, sociological and economic big areas. Also these issues may trigger future territorial studies, in which the economic phenomena such as social facts and their different scales of influence may be absorbed

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