Resistance against platform capitalism: the international strikes of delivery workers in Latin America

Abstract

Digital delivery applications have spread in Latin America, imposing a labor model without formal recognition for their workers. They are part of platform capitalism in which companies like Uber, Airbnb or Rappi use advances in digital technology for a new model of accumulation. In this article I analyze the resistance of deliberys organizations in the region. Specifically, the transnational collective action that they have developed since their conditions were aggravated in the context of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. I describe the dispute they have given to change the frames of meaning around the platforms, questioning their business rhetoric and claiming labor rights. I also analyze the repertoires they have used in their protests. The work is based on qualitative research with semi-structured interviews

with delibery activists from several countries and a hemerographic review.